Crafty Saturday

It’s been a very productive day! By three o’clock in the afternoon, the time it is now, I’ve made seven pairs of earrings, three necklaces, sewn seven holiday themed face masks, ran to the post office to mail three masks that had been purchased, and talked to my sister in law via FaceTime!

You could say my creative muse was with me. It always interests me that when I don’t force things with my creative side – whether it be my writing, sewing, or jewelry making, I have the best results! With no plans to accomplish anything in particular today, I still got a lot done! This, however, is not to say I don’t pay attention to warning signs.

This morning when I got back from the post office, I decided to sew for an hour before lunch. Almost immediately, I had problems. My needle broke, I sewed off the edge of a mask, and bent another needle. Luckily, there were pauses between those warning signs which allowed me to get a few masks sewn together. But, I did stop topstitching. I’ll save that for another day when I am not having difficulty with the sewing machine. (I think it’s time to order the new one my husband got me for our anniversary back in July!) Seriously, I do not know what I am waiting for on that front!

After lunch, I went to make some earrings as I got new components in the mail on Thursday and had not yet had a chance to make some holiday pairs of crystal and sterling. It must have been that I had all the components ready to go and knew before I sat down what I was going to make that made my process so smooth today.

Before long, I broke out the pearls for an opera length necklace that I was pairing with Swarovski Crystals. It reminded me of the roaring 20’s and women who dressed as Flappers! It’s coming along nicely. I just have to attach the clasp.

While I made my jewelry I thought about going through vintage pieces I had inherited from each of my Grandmothers. About a month ago I had gotten it all out and sorted through it. I had pieces from Avon (1970’s) and others from the 1980’s and 90’s. I also had a few pieces from the 1950’s – broaches of butterflies and others covered in rhinestones. One piece, a black, gold, and clear crystal multi-stranded necklace was from a company called Laguna. The pieces featuring Austrian Crystals, faux pearls, and rhinestones were made by the Royal Craftsman Company from 1944-1980. You can read a little about their pieces here. Even if the piece I have was made in 1980, it’s 40 years old! This piece also served to inspire the necklace I worked on today, as it has Swarovski glass (faux) pearls, Swarovski Crystals (Austrian Crystals), and rhinestone studded spacers with a black overlay. The clasp is black with clear rhinestones, and a large faux pearl.

What fun I had when I realized I was making something inspired by a piece of my grandmother’s jewelry that I now own! Actually, I think I’ll finish telling you about it and go complete it! After all, when the muse is present, one must take full advantage of the inspiration! Luckily, my muse allows for flexibility!