RECYCLED TREASURES

Recycled treasures.....We all have something that we hold dear, save forever in that special box tucked away where only you know where to find it. If you're anything like me you have a ton of treasures that you have kept over the years since you were a child. Treasures you can't replace, one's that hold a very dear memory, others from a family member and pieces you yourself have found special enough to keep.

Everytime I go up into my mother's attic I find another treasure...sometimes I get rid of them for the meaning is no longer and sometimes I'm still not ready to part with them. One can only collect so many treasures so I started to recycle my treasures & turn them into something useful that I can actually enjoy.

Years ago for Christmas my brother bought me a necklace with an engraveable large heart pendant. As we all know engraved items fade fast. This was the first piece of jewelry my brother ever bought me. Once my name faded I no longer wanted to wear the necklace but it had a special meaning to me so.... in the special box it went.

In 2008 I started recycling all my scrap Sterling Silver & melting it into pendants & charms to stamp on. After melting several piles of scrap, I was hooked & ideas just started popping into my head. One of those ideas was to go through all the jewelry that I owned but didn't wear & recycle it. I figured it was better than sitting in a box & it would give me a lot to experiment with. I cut up bracelets & necklaces for scrap metal, took apart diamond tennis bracelets & hoop earrings to use the diamonds which left me with scraps of White Gold & Gold. As I was cutting up a few charms another idea popped into my head. I decided to try melting charms from their original shape. To my surprise...I could alter the charm keeping itself original shape & adding texture to it.

Remember that large heart pendant that my brother bought me but the engraving faded? I wear it everyday & it's been around my neck for the past year and a half. It's now my mOMmY TaG with my son's name hand stamped on the front & a special quote hand stamped on the back.

     Recycled Sterling Silver
       "mOMmY TaG" Necklace

  Pendant hangs from a Stainless Steel ball chain with Sterling Sliver ends &  lobster clasp.

"The best things in life are worth waiting for"

Turquoise & Recycled Sterling Silver & Gold

 "mOMmY tAg" Necklace

This is my mOMmY tAg for my daughter. The gold heart is from an earring that was hers when she was a little girl. (now 18yrs old) The hoop was hollow which allowed me to seperate it into two pieces. She lost the one hoop & for some reason I kept the other hoop. I'm glad I did :-) I choose to use Turquoise because of the beautiful contrast of the blues & greens that make the stone. It's said to be a scared gemstone & when worn anywhere on the body will protect & bless the wearer. 

My Artist Signature & My Nickname Since Childhood.

Pure & Sterling Silver, Sea Glass & Diamond Charm Necklace

Pure Silver Heart with embeded diamond:
Silver clay-PMC 3, once fired in a kiln becomes 99.9% Pure Silver. Diamond recycled from a tennis bracelet.

Clear Sea Glass with diamonds:
 Sea glass I found in Puerto Rico. Diamonds recycled from a ring that the center stone fell out of but I aquired 6 nice diamonds from it.

Sterling Silver Hamsa Charm:
 It was plain so I added a diamond center. Diamond recycled from a tennis bracelet.

No matter what day of the week or where I am going I always have one of these necklaces on. Depending on my mood I will pair them up or wear all three. These necklaces have true value & meaning to me....Nothing could replace them....Not even a necklace from Tiffany's. For those who see me often know I never leave home without one of my bracelets from Tiffany's :-) 

http://www.mountainwatermetal.artfire.com/
http://www.mountainwatermetal.etsy.com/

Getting Noticed....From Art Shows To The Fashion Community.

Getting noticed.... It's a really good feeling to know that people are starting to notice my work outside of an art show or they enjoy reading my blog.

It started at an artshow "Art Fest" in Port Orange, Fl in 2008. I had finally choked up the "COURAGE" to enter a juried art show. It's the morning of the show & I'm basically clueless on what to expect not to mention I'm by myself w/no help. No problem...I've got this: Tent up, tables up, table covers on, driftwood & rocks which I use to display my jewelry on is out. It's now time to set up everything & make sure that the way I display my jewelry is eye catching to all who walk by. Not always an easy task, especially if you anything like me. A perfectionist in my own way.

The other artists who I was lucky enough to have as neighbors guided me in the know how & know who of a juried art show. I was feeling really good & confident that my first juried show would be a good one. Funny how that good feeling can change really fast.

I was almost finished setting everything up when I was approached by another artist, a man, who made the most uncalled for comment that made me actually want to cry, pack up & go home. He leaned into me & said, "wow, I guess your the artist with the least amount of things to show today, why did you bother"? Unlike him, I responded with tact. I informed him that I found out less than one week before the show that I was excepted since I was a late entry & I wasn't local. Four days prior to the artshow I packed up my 4 door Jeep Wrangler & left New York to attend my first juried show. I designed day & night in my hotel room. I had about 40 pieces to show but compared to other artists it was nothing.

Those really great artist neighbors of mine, reassured me & told me to pay no mind. I did just that & again... how fast feelings & the day can change. To my surprise & my neighbors surprise I was a very busy booth all day. I ended up designing on site & took several custom orders. The judges.. well one of the judges had a lot of great things to say about me & my work. That's a huge confidence builder within itself. The biggest confidence builder came from another jewelry artisan. She loved my work and asked me if I had a site on Etsy & said if I didn't I needed one because it was a way to get noticed.

Again... the time came to choke up some "CONFIDENCE" and put myself out there....Etsy, Artfire, Blogspot & Twitter. Yes, Twitter. I actually get e-mails often from someone who writes me saying they're following me because they find my work & blogs interesting. Social Networking these days is a must & it works. I've only been serious with all my online sites for a few months &  blogging less than that.

I open up my e-mail yesterday morning (Jan. 9, 2011)  to find an e-mail from someone who likes my blog. At first I'm not quite sure why someone is e-mailing me about my blog...I didn't know people contacted you for that reason. DUH..... SOCIAL NETWORKING. I'm learning all this solo with no imput from anyone so I learn as I go.
   
           The e-mail: From Heidi C. @ Lookville.com. She states she visited my blog & she was super impressed by its design & content. Heidi tells me that Lookville.com was started not long ago. It's a place for people to have discussions, share tips, and ask questions about fashion. Heidi informs me that it's been going great so far & she would love to have me on it. I was given a link to check it out.

As of this morning I posted on Lookville.com. Lookville.com is out of San Franciso, CA.

Thank-You Heidi C. @ Lookville.com for taking the time to read my blog & find it interesting enough to contact me. Lookville.com is linked on my site, I hope we both generate traffic for eachother. Keep in contact :-)

http://www.lookville.com/

"SOLD" My first piece on Artfire.com

While working on my sites & linking my sites to each other my phone kept alerting me of e-mails. I have three e-mails linked to my iPhone: my everyday personal, Mountain Water Metals & Nature Babies (my online resale boutique for babies & toddlers). To my surprise Mountain Water Metal is where all the e-mails were. To my next surprise all of the e-mails were in reference to my 1ST sale on Artfire.com.

http://www.mountainwatermetal.artfire.com/

It's BITTER SWEET! All my designs are "One of a Kind", they are like my babies, all unique, all having a meaning behind the design, quote or phrase. This piece is one of my favorites that I ever designed. It's the first recycled piece of Sterling Silver I ever melted & it's the first double sided quote pendant I ever hand stamped. When I designed this piece I thought of every thing I liked. The quote is one of my favorite quotes, the piece of sea glass is my favorite color (deep teal green) of glass that I ever found. As for the cardinal direction charm..I've always been drawn to  compasses,  the compass rose, sundials & navigational instruments.

                                                        

Lost & Found Collection of Past Designs ~ Sold @ Various Art Shows

Photo: Left to Right

1. Copper & Sterling Silver hand stamped quote necklace. "Let your heart see what your eyes can not".

2.Sterling Silver quote Necklace w/Turquoise Drop. "Everything you can IMAGINE is real".

3.(unable to see in this photo)

4.Sterling Silver & Copper sea glass necklace. "FRIENDS".
5.Copper & Sterling Silver hand stamped positive words necklace. "Strength, Courage & Condidence".

6. (One of my FAVORITES ever)Copper & Sterling Silver hand stamped quote necklace. "Well behaved women rarely make history". SOLD @ Port Orange Art Fest 2008

7. Sterling Silver & sea glass quote necklace. "Embrace the mystery of all you can be".

8. Copper & Sterling Silver hand stamped leather Medical ID bracelet(made for my daughter's friend, he refused to wear a regular medical ID bracelet until I made him this one)"Diabetes Insulin Dependant"

9. Brass & Sterling Silver hand stamp leather bracelet. "Live with Intention".

Photo: Left to Right

1.Sterling Silver & sea glass quote necklace. "Believe in yourself & MAGIC will happen".

2. Etched Brass & Sterling Silver hand stamped quote leather bracelet. "Always be true to youyrself".

3. Sterling Silver & sea glass hand stamped phrase necklace "Be Bold".

4. Sterling Silver & Copper (stars) hand stamped quote leather bracelet. "Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible & achieves the impossible". (One of my FAVORITE quotes)

5. Sterling Silver & sea glass hand stamped sacred greeting necklace. "NAMASTE"

6. Stering Silver & sea glass hand etched & hand stamped word necklace. "Peace".

7.Sterling Silver & sea glass hand stamped word necklace. "Dream".

8. Brass & Sterling Silver (heart) hand stamped quote leather bracelet. "Be rare, eccentric & original".

9. Sterling Silver & sea glass quote necklace. "With balance comes happiness". (A Yoga teacher from Rhinebeck, NY bought this at an art show)

Lost & Found Blog from 2008 Artwalk ~ New Smyrna Beach, FL

Artwalk on Flagler Ave. in New Smyrna Beach, Florida on April 26 2008. A juried show every 4th Saturday of every month from 10am~5pm. I was setup outside of Gone Bonkers in an area I had all to myself. :-) The flag GG allows people to to see that we're with the Gallery Group of Flagler Avenue. http://www.flaglergallerygroup.com

LIFE IS GOOD @ AT ARTWALK :)

Photo: Barefoot and sitting on the ground designing.....The Simple Life :)

A Collection of "Magnificent Mixed Metals"

Magnificent Mixed...

Curated By: PottyMouthGems

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

A pleasant surprize first thing in the morning. I open my e-mail to find out that one of my designs was choosen for a collection. PottyMouthGems of Artfire curated the collection titled "Magnificent Mixed Metals".

It's really a great feeling to know people are taking notice to my work. It's what makes a piece truely complete. I design for me, for what I want to see & the only thing I can hope for from there is that someone loves my work as much as I loved creating it.  To me, that is the complete circle for an artist.

Necklace:
Sterling Silver, recycled Copper & Sea Glass Quote Necklace

Thank you PottyMouthGems for including my "Think Outside The Box" necklace into your collection.