The Red Pencil Box: jewelry

Showing posts with label jewelry. Show all posts

DIYing pendant necklaces is so incredibly easy and inexpensive, I feel like I could kick myself for not exploring this avenue earlier. Online platforms like Etsy make is even easier to purchase specific materials to your liking (differing chain lengths, bezel sizes, etc.), that the options are almost endless. While purchasing investment jewelry has been something I've had my eye on, even the prices for consigned pieces are way out of my price and comfort range- I just cannot justify spending so much on something that is not made of the best materials (read: "gold toned"), and the price of which is arguably jacked up because of the name. I've seen some creative takes on this dilemma, most common of which has lately been the designer button necklace. Harvested from presumably old and damaged clothes and bags (though who can really say for sure where all these buttons come from), the process of taking a button and securing it into a bezel pendant is just about as easy and simple as it sounds.

I ordered the chain, bezel setting, and button from Etsy. My favorite stores for buttons include Vintage Paris Luxe and Fashion Button. You'll want to order your bezel setting after you order the button so that you order the appropriate sized bezel depending on the diameter of the button. I originally purchased E6000 glue to use on the necklace, but the warnings about skin irritation scared me, so I opted for really strong glue dots instead, which worked just fine. Literally less than 5 minutes later, you're done!

Using the wire cutters, I removed the button hook so that the back of the button was now a smooth surface. This made to possible to stick the button onto the bezel setting.

Using a glue dot, I stuck the button onto the pendant

DIY designer button necklace

Monday, March 11, 2019

If I were to tell you how hard it is to make these mismatched stone bead earrings, you wouldn't believe me. Fortunately for you, I'm detailing the incredibly difficult and long instructions and materials list below. It's really just very complicated, so this may not be a DIY for the faint of heart.

For the earrings, you'll need 2 stone beads/pendants (preferably mismatched, but if that's too much for you, by all means, match. Also, I couldn't find the exact ones I got, but these would be fun) + hoops. Loop the stones through the hoop, and you're done. Bonus cool points if you wear multiple mismatched ones at the same time.

DIY mismatched stone earrings

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

One of my favorite things to do lately is finding vintage gems (literally). The search terms "vintage" and "jewelry" on Etsy yield a plethora of fun and unique items from various time periods. As a part of my larger, overall goal of slowly consolidating my closet and buying less (and thus owning and wasting less) combined with my want to buy more from smaller businesses, I've been using Etsy a lot more. Adding a touch of vintage often means one-of-a-kind pieces that have been pre-owned, which keeps in line with my longer term goals while still allowing a space for uniqueness and creativity. Below are some of my favorite Etsy stores to buy vintage jewelry from:

Providence Vintage Jewelry
Reasonably priced, tons of options, and an entire vintage Oscar de la Renta section.

Top Atomic
An eclectic mix of both vintage and modern items priced very affordably.

Recollect Jewelry
A bit more on the splurgy side, but an incredibly unique selection.

Cellar Deals
A bunch of different vintage style to look through at a reasonable price point

Vintique Gems Shop
Another one more on the splurgy side with a very colorful and trendy collection

vintage jewelry shopping

Monday, February 18, 2019

Ok, so after I passionately shared how I didn't want to promote (large, corporate) brands on my blog when talking about style and fashion, I realized there would have to be a caveat when talking about style as a part of seasonal transitions because most of what I post is pulled from websites and not my own pictures. Unless I purchase all of what I'm talking about, there's really no way to avoid it. With fall coming up very soon, here's a list of some things I'm feeling for the upcoming season.

1. Asymmetrical earrings: This trend kind of has a tendency to come and go, and often sticks with small, delicate earrings (liked a moon and star). However, I love the idea of taking it one step further and having mismatched large(r) earrings.

Image from Amazon

2. Padded headbands: It's been 11 years since Gossip Girl first aired, about 8 years since I got over my subsequent headband phase, and now just a few months since I've rediscovered my love for them. Velvet padded headbands are a stylish way a la Blair Waldorf to herald in the cooler weather.

Image from Free People

3. Giant gems: This really speaks for itself. The more colorful, the better.

Image from Roxanne Assoulin

4. Multicolor baguette rings: If too much color is too much for you, single colored baguette rings have their own elegance to them. Stacking single colored rings also makes for a statement piece. Etsy has a pretty sizable selection of handmade and/or vintage ones.

Image from Etsy

5. A good, structured blazer: One of the most difficult things to find in terms of finding one that fits well, has a nice pattern, and isn't more than a quarter of your month's rent. The more it looks like it was something your dad wore in the 70's, the better. Preferably more browns than blacks/grey. Bonus points for elbow patches. Double bonus points times infinity if it's actually your dad's blazer from the 70's that you had tailored to fit you.

Image from Neiman Marcus

What are you feeling for fall 2018? (she echoed into the void that is her blog's comment section)

what i'm feeling for: fall 2018

Friday, September 21, 2018

Although Mother's Day was a couple weekends ago, this jewelry tray can be gifted for any occasion for a special lady in your life, or even be used for yourself! I didn't start using jewelry trays until recently. Before, I would just keep all of my jewelry in a little box. It wasn't til I bought a tray on a whim that I realized how much of my jewelry I wasn't wearing because it was tucked away in a box- out of sight, out of mind. Now I like to keep some things I'm wearing for the week on the tray, and rotate pieces out weekly so that I get good wear out of all my jewelry.

This DIY clay jewelry tray is so easy to make and is so useful. I got the idea from here, and made one big change- I freehanded the shape of my tray (as I think you can embarrassingly tell, it's a little imperfect). I opted for air drying clay because I didn't want to mess around with baking it in an oven, and risking overbaking it. Also, the idea of just leaving it out for 2 days to air dry while I did nothing seemed really appealing.

Here's the materials I used to make 2 trays:
- 2.2 lb white block of DAS air hardening modeling clay
- Small rubber stamps to create a personalized message (optional)
- Acrylic paint + paintbrushes
- Glossy Mod Podge

I started out by shaping the trays. While most tutorials I saw used cookie cutters (which I highly recommend and wish I had used), I got cocky with my "skills" (or lack thereof) and freehanded a leaf shape. It turns out clay is a way harder medium to use than I was anticipating. I then used tiny rubber stamps to stamp out a message in the trays, and set the trays on my desk to dry for 2 days. After day 1 I flipped the trays over to ensure the backsides dried properly.

After the drying came my favorite part- painting! I used acrylic paints and small paintbrushes to paint a light blue base with one of my all time favorite designs, flowers with leaves. I think they're perfect for Mother's Day! After the acrylic paint dried, I painted on 3 layers of glossy Mod Podge (with letting each layer dry for about 20 minutes before painting on the next layer) to give the trays some shine. And that was it!

I used some of my ink and nibs from the modern calligraphy class I took in December to make a matching Mother's Day card (note the recurring flowers theme). I initially lettered the words in black ink and went back over the right sides of the wording with gold ink for a special effect. I added watercolor flowers using my new Winsor & Newton water colors and outlined them in black ink.