Still going, and going...

Well, I am officially another year older. I turned 43 on the 18th (and no, the cutie in the photo above isn't me). Although I was sick on my birthday (and I am still sick) I am thankful for another year of life, time with my family and friends, and doing what I love.

Speaking of doing what I love; I have had so much fun making jewelry lately! Thoughts and ideas about new designs come and go, and come again, so quickly that I have to write them down in notebooks so that I can remember them all later.

(Sorry ~ the necklace shown above was listed and sold in my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=25539483; thanks for asking about it though!)

Lately I have been working with some of my antique and vintage jewelry pieces and the soldered charms that I make. Most of the old pieces are just little fragments found here and there in junk shops.

I hope to get a collection made and listed in my etsy shop in a few weeks. I will also be making a larger collection to sell this summer at the Lavender Festival, along with my regular items, if approved. Keep your fingers crossed for me please! :)

(Sea Glass Serenade, with a vintage glass French perfume flask as the focal, is available here: www.honeysucklelane.etsy.com)

Thanks for stopping by ~

Take Care and God Bless,

Lana

~*~

~ Happy Valentine's Day ~

I want to share with you a gorgeous antique tin heart that was made by Annette of Cottage in the Sun. I received it last week and it took my breath away. It's all the colors I love, it has layers and layers of chippy, crackled paint.... I wish she had more of that tin, but she told me that she had used the last of it.

You can find more of her wonderful pieces in her Etsy shop here.

~*~

I hope all of you have a happy Valentine's day!

Take Care and God Bless,

Lana

~*~

Seeing RED ~ and a bit of sea blues and sea greens...

I've had this heart in hand charm since last year. After I made the charm, I put it away in one of my unfinished project drawers and forgot about it. Occassionally I would run across it and think about finishing the necklace, but then I'd get busy with other projects, put it away again, and so the cycle continued.

Well, this week I took it out of the drawer and placed it right in the middle of my work table so it would be in the way and I'd have to work on it. I used steel wire to make the chain links and spiral clasps.

I wanted to keep everything red except for the aged metal, so I added red glass beads and red coral beads. Hanging right above the charm is an antique pressed glass bead that I removed from an old watch fob.
The open length of this one of a kind necklace is 25 inches. My daughter tells me this longer length is very popular.

I will list it in my Etsy shop sometime this weekend at Simple Joys Paperie.

SOLD ~ thank you!

I have a couple more that I'm working on; they are in shades of aqua and ecru and have paper hearts and fragments of antique lace inside the soldered charms. They will be added to my Simple Joys Paperie shop in a few more days.

~*~

Sea Glass Serenade...

This is a necklace I made some time ago. You may remember it from an earlier post. I had decided not to sell it, but have since changed my mind. I don't wear jewelry that often and have more pieces that I can make for myself. It will go in my Honeysuckle Lane Etsy shop since it doesn't have any paper embellishments to qualify it for my paperie shop.

Found objects include a vintage French perfume flask filled with German glass glitter and glass beads, an antique blue pressed glass bead, an antique green glass teardrop bead and matching round bead, one of which is surrounded by a brass filigree style flower, a vintage faceted crystal bead, and much more that will be in the Etsy listing description.

Its open length is 28 inches and this unique necklace will be $85 plus shipping.
I will list in my Honeysuckle Lane etsy shop over the weekend. 

~*~

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and a happy Valentine's day!

Take Care and God Bless,

Lana

~*~

What Do Cobwebs, Birdcages, and Beehives Have in Common?

They are all names of a particular love token of the 1800s. Often called cobweb, birdcage, or beehive valentines, these delicate tokens of love were popular during the early to mid 19th century. Most featured a watercolor or lithographed image on the front, then opened to another work of art (or a poem) on the inside. This work of art was cut in intricate detail and had a string attached to the center. When the string was carefully lifted, the artwork magically spiraled open to reveal a third image underneath.

(Above photo sources unknown. These were in my antique valentines folder, many of which were sent to me from people who knew I was interested in researching them.)

When I first started making them a few years ago, I learned by looking at antiques in reference books and by trial and error. Today when I was searching for photos of antiques online, I ran across several tutorials. Hmmm, those sure would have come in handy back then!

The cobweb valentines that I make are influenced by the antiques, but have my own style and color preferences.

I listed several on my website, Honeysuckle Lane, tonight as well as a few more puzzle purse valentines.

And again, I am inspired by the antiques, but try to add my own style to them.

I also made one more framed love token which sold first thing (thank you P :) !).

I had been saving this Victorian red velvet frame for some time, just waiting for an idea of how to incorporate it with the things I make.

I thought the heart in hand would look pretty in the oval shape.

And I really liked the worn areas on the frame ~ perfectly aged and worn!

I added a touch of aqua to the piece, used coordinating ribbon and it was complete! I wish I could find more old velvet frames like this one, but so far I have not found any.

 This finishes my Valentines updates this year... in a way. I will be making more love token paperweights to list in my Simple Joys Paperie etsy shop, as love is never out of season.

In between working on orders, I will be designing some new things for spring, which isn't that far away, you know! :)

Thanks so much for hanging around and reading all my ramblings.

I'll be back in just a few more days.

Take Care & God Bless,

Lana

~*~ 

LOVE @ the Office...

(update ~ all paperweights have been spoken for via my etsy shop, except the one at the top left in the above photo ~ thanks everyone!)

Why not decorate your workplace with a token of love? Make your desk a bit prettier and spread the love throughout your office! Co-workers will treat you a little nicer, maybe your boss will feel the love and give you a raise... well, you can dream, can't you? ;)

I think these would make unique wedding favors, maybe an aniversary gift, or even a special way of offering your love (along with a gorgeous bling ring) when you pop the question!

I've listed three of these pretties in my Etsy shop, Simple Joys Paperie, and the other two will go on sometime tomorrow.

If by chance someone is interested in them before I list them, just send me an email or let me know in the comments and I'll get back to you asap.

I think I have a new obsession with these crystal paperweights. They are imported from France and are the perfect oval shape.

The paperweight near the top, the aqua and sepia one, is my favorite so far. It's different, not your usual valentine colors.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back in a few days with some local attraction photos.

Take Care and God Bless,

Lana

~*~

They're here!

I have two things to share with you today ~

First of all, I have updated my website with puzzle purse valentines and love token paperweights. This is the first time I've made the paperweights, though I've had them in my workroom ready to use for months. Just click the link HERE to go to the Valentines page to see what's available. I've already had some sales this morning.

I enjoy making the puzzle purses and other paper tokens of love each year, although this year's offerings caught me by surprise timewise. I have been busy with paper wreath orders and nearly waited to late to begin making the love tokens. However, I do plan on making more this week and will have them ready on February 8th. I think that will be my last update this season for valentines.

~*~

Second, I received the Winter 2010 issue of GreenCraft in the mail yesterday. One of my paper wreaths is on page 8! I was so excited when my daughter brought in the mail. It had been a year since the editors of GreenCraft had contacted me about featuring one of my wreaths, but it was definitely worth the wait.
This issue is full of eco-friendly ideas! The Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Somerset Studio also has a photo of my wreath on page 2. It's a preview of the GreenCraft issue. If you'd like to purchase a copy, you can find these issues and so many more at http://www.stampington.com/.