... just Laura

MM vintage groove jewelry

have you heard the news? the vintage groove jewelry collection, by making memories, is now available at select michaels stores. this morning, i went to the modesto, CA store, and set up the display. so any of you local to me, go check out my handi-work. and the rest of you can check out this list, to see if there's a michaels store by you that will have the jewelry.

 
and for those of you that are not fortunate enough to live close enough to one of these stores, remember you can also purchase the collection HERE. after unpackaging and hanging up all that jewelry, i'm now feeling the urge to make something pretty of my own. might have to make a little time for that today ;)

first day of class - a layout

i have a layout from the tools & techniques issue of scrapbooking tips & tricks magazine to share with you today. i have quite a few things from that issue to share actually. i might be tossing up quite a few layouts on the blog this week ;)

as seen in the Tools & Techniques issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

my assignment involved using the new chip art tool by melody ross, for GCD studios. the basic idea of this tool, is that it debosses chipboard. if you watch THIS VIDEO, it gives you a good look at the steps involved in this technique.

to get started, you need a few tools and accesories. the chip art block, a chip art mallet, a chip art spray bottle (you could use any spray bottle, but this one does have a perfect mist to it, and it's cute), and a tool handle (there are two sizes, depending which stamps you're using). they also sent me the sparrow uppercase alphabet set to work with (which includes the tool handle), along with the medium chipboard shapes and the medium chipboard frames. 

since i only had the alphabets to work with, i decided to do a school layout. these photos are from the girls first day of school, last year (2009). i know this  might not be typical school colors. i go with what the girls wear, and their backpacks. so last year, it was pink, green, blue, and purple.

 

i thought this large chipboard frame would be cute with the alphabet stamped all around it. this did take me a while to do, since i had to switch the letters one by one as i stamped them. and yes, the mallet is loud. there's nothing quiet about this tool. lol! i then misted the frame, in small sections at a time. you want to moisten up the chipboard a little, but you also don't want it too damp. then i used the mallet to stamp the die into the chipboard, creating a "debossed" look. 

after i went around the entire frame, i was ready to paint. i choose to go with purple, and i'm pretty sure i used two coats of paint. i wanted the letters to be white, so i mixed up some white paint with some mod podge. took some experimenting on the ratios, since i couldn't remember exactly how it was done. i ended up with 1/4 paint, and 3/4 mod podge. i brushed that mixture over the frame, getting it in all the debossed areas.

then i used a paper towel to wipe off the excess. this left the white paint in just the debossed areas, and lightened up the purple paint a little bit. which was good, since it was a little bright to begin with. then i did brush a layer of just mod podge over the frame, to give it a shiny look. 

i'm not sure i should even tell you how many times it took, to get this piece right. lol! i started with an entirely different shape. i was eyeballing if the "alyssa eighth grade" and "sarah fifth grade" would fit like i wanted. and messed up on that once. i also spelled "eighth" wrong once, and didn't realize it until i was done doing the paint and everything. i think i spelled "fifth" wrong once too. doesn't help when you're working backwards, even though i wrote it on paper to try and help me. lol! but as you can see, i did eventually get it all done right ;)

supplies:
pattern paper: jillibean soup, creative cafe, scenic route
journaling card: creating keepsakes KOTM
letter stickers: doodlebug, making memories
rubon stitches: daisy d's
brads: making memories
star punch: stampin up
paint: making memories
tools: chip art, by GCD

and i had to show this too. this is the necklace that i made with the chip art tool at CHA, last january. they were doing these for their make and takes. my good friend lynn was working it, and i could always find the booth by listening for the hammering. lol! we used the chip art rectangle metal pendant accesory kit and the butterflies ornamental stamp. i really, really love this necklace. i just think the style is fun and casual, which suits me well. i really need to get some more of the pendant accesory kits, so that i can make some more of these. and a random piece of info? i LOVE these jeans :)

home decor challenge - making memories blog

i have a fun home decor challenge up on the making memories blog today. the challenge involves using vintage groove jewelry by making memories in a different way. not to make something pretty to wear. but to make something pretty to display in your home. check out the MM blog for all the details :)

a new vintage groove necklace

i got so busy the last 2 weeks, that i hadn't made any new vintage groove jewelry. it was fun last night, to take everything back out and dig around for pieces i wanted to put together. 

i started by taking the corded strand from THIS set. then i took part of the gold chain and the velvet oval pendant from THIS set. and i took the 3 pieces from each end of THIS strand. hooked them all together and came up with this cute necklace.

alyssa was nice enough to model it for me this morning. sarah apparently didn't hear me asking for a model, and was bummed that she didn't get to do it. so she'll be my model for next week :)

supplies:
MM vintage groove jewelry kit - floral mix
MM vintage groove jewelry kit - abalone and velvet
MM vintage groove jewelry strand combinations - abalone and button 

necklaces and a winner

first up, my randomly chosen winner for the free copy of creating keepsakes fast & fresh scrapbooks. i figured it's 4 minutes until midnight here, so i'd just pick the winner and post tonight. tomorrow morning is a busy one, and i don't want to leave you hanging until i get around to the computer. we have comment #30: this looks like a great idea book. Thanks for the chance! :) Posted by: Vera Wirianta| May 10, 2010 at 01:27 PM. congrats vera! email me over your address and we'll get that mailed out to you! and for everyone else, there might be another giveaway next week. just sayin ;)

wanted to share another vintage groove necklace with you. i used a jewelry strand combination kit for this one, which made it really quick and easy to put together. i started with the silver seed bead combination kit. those 6 beads, stones, and charms were all strung together already. you can easily change them, add different pieces, take pieces out. but i liked it just like it was. all i had to do was attach them to the silver seed beaded chain.  i wanted to add some pearls to it. so i took the 2 pearl strands from the abalone and pearl combination kit, and attached them together to one end of the beads and stones. then just added my initial, and i was done.

i really need to get some photos of these necklaces ON someone, and not just hanging in the air. lol! then you could get a better feel for how i created them to hang. some of them are centered, some off to one side, some to the other side. i'll try to get the girls to model them for me. they're cuter to look at ;) 

but what i can show you, is where these necklaces end up after i make them. i've been wanting to share this. it's not the best photo at all. but if i wait to get a good photo, you might not ever see this. this is a large rectangle frame that hangs in the playroom, above the glider rocker that i feed the babies in. it used to have a print of some sort in it. i spray painted it black, and glued cork inside the frame to make it a bulletin board. i do this a lot. in fact, i also have 6 12x12 frames hanging in the house that are exactly the same. painted black and cork inside. and guess what? not a single one of them have anything pinned up on them. they've been hanging there at least 2 years. with nothing on them. typical of me. i do that sort of thing. but i did at one point, adhere these 3 ribbons to this framed cork. i had a plan for the rest of it. some huge chipboard letters, and a few pictures. just never did it. so it's just been 3 pieces of ribbon for all this time.

until now. i had all my necklaces laying on the island in the playroom. for weeks. then one day, i just took them and hung them up on this bulletin board with tacks.  i love to look at this. and i think the baby likes to look at it behind me, as i'm feeding him. lol! and when i'm feeling like wearing a necklace, i just go over to my display and pick out what matches me that day. if i create enough new pieces, maybe i can fill up the other 6 frames. lol!

my newest vintage groove piece

i have no clue how this necklace took me so long to finish. it was just so busy around here last week, and it all just sat out on the island the entire week. untouched and unmoved. thursday night, i finally grabbed my vintage groove jewelry collection and my tools, and took them with me to soccer practice. sarah made sure i wasn't going to come out on the field or do it where people could see me. lol! she didn't have to worry, since it was so cold and windy that night. i sat in the van, and made this. 

i think this is my favorite of the ones i've made. i had another favorite. but this one has taken over. i've been wearing it, and just love how it looks. i tried to get a picture of it on myself, but didn't have much luck. i'm not always so good with the self portraits. it's a big longer of a necklace, falling right below a V-neck shirt. i even put it on today, when i finally got the baby to nap. it might have only been on for a little bit. but it made me feel pretty for a while. then he woke up, and i took it off. jewelry like this doesn't mix with a 4 month old. lol!

i started with an aqua stone bead strand, and a striped antique silver chain. i took apart the silver chain in the middle, so that i could add the pieces to either end, and then connect them into one long piece. then i attatched the aqua stone bead strand about 3 inches down from either side of the silver chain. so the silver one is what i hook around my neck, and the aqua strand hangs from that. then i just picked out pieces that i liked together. i'm loving yellow lately, especially with aqua. the brown seemed natural with those colors. i was desperate to use that pretty rhinestone piece. and the clear pieces called out to me. i added the silver key higher up on one side of the necklace. thought it balanced out the rhinestone piece. and of course, my signature "L" to finish it off.

MM vintage groove, simple strands - aqua stone bead
MM vintage groove, simple strands - striped antique silver
MM vintage groove, designer combinations - shell & silver
MM vintage groove, designer combinations - joy
MM vintage groove, designer combinations - wood hoop
MM vintage groove, alphabet charms - L
MM vintage groove, jewelry pendant - carved wood flower
MM vintage groove, jewelry hardware - silver jump rings 

vintage groove - part 3

i have another vintage groove necklace to share with you today. this one is pretty simple. i liked the yellow pendant, and wanted to keep the silver chain very clean and simple.

have you tried it yet?  would you like to?  the super generous folks from Making Memories are doing a random act of kindness for their facebook fans. They will be choosing one winner every day!  all you have to do is become a fan, visit their FB page daily and post a comment to be entered in.  go HERE to get started.  good luck!

vintage groove part 2

wanted to share my latest creation with the new vintage groove jewelry collection from making memories.

i'm finding it really hard to photograph these. the main pieces all hang towards the center on the chain on the bottom. and then the gingham flower and the key are up towards the shoulder. i tried to venture out a little more time time, and get creative :)

check out the gorgeous creations that these other designers created, for more inspiration:
wendy sue anderson
wilna furstenberg
suzonne sterling

jewelry making fun

have you seen the new vintage groove jewelry, by designer jill schwartz? she has teamed up with making memories to bring us some gorgeous jewelry supplies to create with. i first heard about this on my trip to the MM offices, last november. jill was actually there with all the pieces spread out on this huge table, and they were deciding on how they were going to group everything and package it. was neat to see a glimpse of the process. now, i'm the first to admit that i'm not actually a big jewelry person. meaning, the only jewelry i wear is my wedding rings. but i was totally up for the challenge of creating with this new collection.

i decided to invite my good friend, sierra, over to create with me. she's an artsy fartsy girl, like me. but with a different style. and while i was drawn to a ton of the pieces of this collection, i knew that some of it wasn't quite my style. it's gorgeous. just not "me". but i could see it being "sierra", and knew she'd have fun with it. she dug right in there, and started creating. pulling pieces out, taking chains apart, cutting pieces, and putting together fun mixtures. me? i sat there and debated, hemmed and hawwed, over analyzed, and maybe even got a little anxious and overwhelmed at one point. lol! i'm such a clean and linear person, matchy matchy, and everything measured to precise and perfect spacing. so this was a creative push for me. 

but the nice thing about doing something with a friend, is that you always start chatting and talking about stuff. and at some point, i just started making stuff. we were both totally into what we were making, not really looking at each other much, but chatting away. sierra even said at one point, "i've never talked to you like this". which was kind of funny, since i've known her about 8 years. lol! anyways. the point of this, is that i made a few necklaces. all on my own. and i loved it. they're nothing too fancy or elaborate. but for my first time jewelry-ing it up (i might have made that term up), i'm really happy with them.

tell me that's a great shot. because i took these all one-handed. holding the necklace in one hand at arms length, getting the pieces to dangle the right way, and hold my heavy camera in the other hand and snap away, all while trying to keep my focus point. i even had my external flash on there, which made it heavier. i like to do things the hard way ;)

i was determined to use this super cute teal flower. it was the first thing that caught my eye. i think i had something else dangling on there, with the two flowers. and then i thought about the "L" monograms. when i got my package, jenny had tossed a ton of L's in there. i'm assuming it was for "laura", although it could be because she "loves" me so much ;) so, i was joking that i should add an "L" to everything i make. like a signature touch. i kind of liked that idea.

i should have changed into something that actually matched better. but i don't have access to my room during the day, since joe sleeps after working all night. and this was taken one handed, outstetched arm. not sure i would have looked better if someone else took the photo, but in my mind, i would have. lol! and i did mean for this to be slightly off to the side (i didn't just put it on crooked), and not hanging right in the middle.
 

another cool one handed shot. better than some of my two handed shots, to be honest ;)

this large chunky piece was another one that i was drawn to right away. i was joking that in my simple nature, i would normally just attach this to the chain and be done with it. lol! but i picked out another piece to dangle on there, along with my signature "L" ;)

this would probably look cooler with a different shirt. yeah, i think so.

an hour or so spend with a good friend, creative goodness, and six creations to show for it. not bad at all. although i only made two necklaces, and sierra made 3 necklaces and a bracelet. she wins. but i have plans for more, so i'll share more next week. edited to add: sierra has her creations up on her blog this morning, and she's be thrilled if you would stop by and see what she made HERE.

right now, the collection is being released at select target and ac moore stores, across the country. if you go to the vintage groove jewelry site, you can see a list of all the stores that are carrying it. and if you're local to me, you're in luck. the modesto target store is one of the select california stores, and it's all in stock and on the shelves ;)