Thursday, May 9, 2013

Vintage Necklace from a Buckle & Button & Beads

I LOVE jewelry.
Nothing expresses one's personality the way that jewelry does.  
Don't you agree?  
Have you ever looked at a pair of earrings and thought, 
"Those are me"
or
"Those look just like (fill in the blank)?"

From time to time I get a bee in my bonnet, and I just have to make a new piece of jewelry.
I had these pieces just waiting in my treasure box:

I took a little inspiration from this book, Rejuvenated Jewels,
 New Designs from Vintage Treasures, by Amy Hanna:
 

I had a few false starts, including this charm style necklace with crowns and 
a vintage rhinestone watch piece. I wore it once, and it just didn't feel quite right.

So I remade it, and yes, it felt very, very right:

I wire wrapped sterling beads with sterling wire and linked them with some sterling and 
marcasite pieces that I salvaged from an old necklace. I glued a garnet piece to a mother-of-pearl-button, and glued that onto the rhinestone buckle.  I wire wrapped a pearl and attached it to a vintage rhinestone piece that got attached to the buckle. I also added a sterling toggle to the buckle to 
attach it to the beaded section.

Here's a view on a lace background:

Another view:

 I HAD to have earrings to go with it, so I came up with these:
Garnet pieces on MOP buttons, sterling ear wires, and freshwater pearls, sterling bead caps, and garnet beads wire-wrapped and dangling from the buttons.


I even let my new friend wear it!  (Looks SO Victorian here.)

And a bit more modern here:

Yes, she has a name.  I had a hard time choosing between so many wonderful suggestions, Sephora, Rosalie, Lacey...  Everyone seemed to agree that a French name suited her best.
And guess who had the winning name?
My dear husband!
When he suggested, "Cosette," (from Les Miserables), how could I refuse?
Any man who indulges such girlish silliness in his wife of almost thirty years
deserves to be heard.   :-)
Yep, he's a keeper.

 So there you have it.

And I have another little group of goodies just waiting for a new idea!

See the transformation of Cosette from store-bought dress form to vintage dress form diva!



Linking up with




15 comments:

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Laura,
I will have a new post up and ready for Sunday's party and I will give you a shout out as to being a new party and asking my friends to link up. Okay??? My post is going to be on my Dining Room and it is very vintage Victorian....

Hugs,
Deb

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

What a beautiful piece, Laura! A statement piece for sure. I love the way it looks on Cosette, but I'll bet it looks even better on you.

Lynn Stevens said...

Gorgeous!!!!
Hugs Lynn

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Laura, you have such amazing talent. Love, love the necklace and earrings. Oh, and I love the name you chose. Hubby knows best! lol! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann

Stan and Jody Gabara said...

So pretty! Thanks for sharing your creative work!

Take Care,
Jody

Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home said...

Beautiful! You sure know how to create some pretty pieces. Love her name, yep...he's a keeper!
Thanks so much for sharing at Amaze Me Monday, hope you'll pop over to join this weeks party...
Blessings,
Cindy

Unknown said...

Hi Laura, your pieces are pure art. I love the vintage necklaces and your talent and love for this art is amazing. Do you also sell these?

Unknown said...

stunning piece!!
http://www.ibraggiotti.com

Unknown said...

Cosette is a very good one for her. It's looking absolutely gorgeous. Your treasure box is full of surprises. :)
- Jeff from Diamond Treasures

Unknown said...

Wowzers! Jewelries are really awesome. I totally agree with what you wrote that jewelries express one's personality. And it's really awesome to note how latest fashion accessories for women are based from the past. Anyway, great post! Keep continue on your costume jewelry blogs!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Amazing collection....best way to your creativity...all jewel pieces are pure form of jewellery art htp://www.youbella.com

kksharma 5555 said...

Great, pendants designs are looking so beautiful and so charming jewelries you shared. Glass Beads

Unknown said...

Oh my! What a wonderful collection! I love the one that looked Victorian and the Garnet pieces on MOP buttons, sterling ear wires, and freshwater pearls, sterling bead caps, and garnet beads wire-wrapped and dangling from the buttons. Keep up the great work!

gaurav malhotra said...

wow !!! unique and beautifuilly written, and very informative post !!! was going through your blog, you have a very good command over your hand !!! great going, keep posting like this.

I am a gemologist from India,i am just a beginner to this industry, i have started a new website by the name of Carats on Karats so i keep on reading informative lbogs like you have, your blog really inspired me. Thank you