I was at Micheal's the other day buying some paints for my art class, and noticed a jewelry magazine that had done a feature on a lady that makes jewelry similar to the vintage repurposed pieces I make and sell over in my ResparkableVintage Etsy shop. I barely glanced at it, but today, I went into the bookstore and saw the magazine again, so I looked at it more closely.
And then, one thing led to the next....
I was looking at jewelry magazines (which, surprisingly, there are a ton of), blogging, journaling, and art magazines, and oh my gosh! I got so inspired. Not necessarily in the ways I thought I would, but I feel like I've just had a lot of caffeine.
Which, okay, I have sorta had a lot of caffeine. But I'm hyped up really just by all the ideas floating around in my head after looking at so many things that I somehow felt very connected to.
I feel terrible that I cannot credit the artists who drew, colored, painted, etc. the following images that inspired me so, because although I took a photo of them from the magazine, I failed to get the names!!! Ugh. But I'll find them and add them to this post soon...
"Love with an open heart"
"Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will" -A.W. Tozer
Some things we love and are drawn to, we know nothing about. And we ask, "Why am I so pulled towards this?" I love the mystery of that. So I'm off to try and figure it out!
Altered book art, which I'm dying to know much more about!
I think I'm always hoping to discover some untapped talent I have...too help me find that thing I was meant to do and to be. The more stuff I try, the more likely I am to find it. And it can be so fun just trying!
Well, I've been busy combining gorgeous vintage jewelry pieces with some modern elements to make some brand new jewelry. It's Resparkable Vintage! (And it's pretty remarkable, I think! hahah) It's all absolutely one of a kind stuff you won't see anywhere else! I've just listed a few items in the Resparkable Vintage Boutique over at Etsy.com. Here's a peek...
Repurposed Vintage Necklace using rhinestone shoe clip as the centerpiece
Repurposed Vintage Necklace with jumbo sized enameled daisy and citrine nuggets
Repurposed Vintage Necklace with pearl and rhinestone pendant
If you'd like to see more pics, and find out a little more about these pieces and others, please visit the shop!
Believe it or not, I was Googling myself, hoping to find a video of me playing an older song of mine that I can not remember anymore! I know it's in some weird tuning, and so I was thinking if I could see a video of me playing it, I could figure it out.
I haven't found that song, but I did find this one, "I Know This For Sure". Someone used it in a video they made for the character "Minx" on "All My Children". I have no idea who that character is and I've never watched "All My Children", but apparently, my song captured the essence of Minx! This just totally cracks me up!
The other day, I was ordering a book off of Amazon, and if I spent just a few more dollars I could have free shipping. That sucks me into an additional purchase every single time. Those Amazon people are smarties!
That was lucky for me though. Who knows if I would've ordered this CD otherwise, but I had just heard a song by BOY on one of the Sirius channels, so it was on my mind. I'm putting down the song I heard on the radio called "Little Numbers", but really, the whole CD is great, and it doesn't all sound like Feist as much as this one does. (Nothing against Feist! I really like her, as a matter of fact. I just think it's best when everyone has their own distinct sound...)
There's also a acoustic version of "Little Numbers" on the CD which I like even more than this version. I thought this video was cute tho. I love the little piano! :)
I am so happy when it's time to go thru the closet and get rid of stuff. Sometimes, I go a little overboard. I once donated all of my dresses to Goodwill. It felt so good to clear it out, I just kept piling more things in the donation pile. But a few weeks later, we had a wedding to go to, and I realized I had not a single dress left. The best part about it was, I got to buy some new dresses!
Today, I listed my first "destash" of vintage jewelry in my Resparkable Vintage shop over at Etsy.com. Sometimes I buy large "lots" of jewelry in auctions. And not all of it is right for me. Some of it is gross, and it goes directly in the garbage. Lots of it, I'm just in love with. And some of it, even though I like it, I can't figure out anything I want to do with it. But I bet somebody else can!
Last night, I went through the stuff that I'd been hoarding for a little too long. The stuff I might never use, that's just been sitting in my studio. I decided to sell it so someone else could either wear it as it is, or make something really cool with it.
So far, I only listed this one group of 3 floral pins. I don't want to go overboard! But there will be more...
group of vintage pins for sale! red rose, gold flower bouquet, gold rose
This past Sunday, I sang at a church I sing at every couple of months. It's sort of a far drive, and it's a morning gig, and on that particular Sunday morning it was pouring down rain. Ug. It was hard enough to get out of bed, let alone, get myself dressed for church and wake my voice up enough to sing!
this bed is very hard to get out of for obvious reasons
But I made it there.
I sang my songs, and got to listen to the sermon. It was freezing in the church for some reason, and I must have been shivering or rubbing my arms to try to stay warm as I sat listening. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and the woman behind me passed me this note.
"would you like me to bring you my white sweater from the car?"
An older woman I didn't even know. So, so sweet. Very much reminded me of my mom with that gesture. And in that moment, I was so glad I got out of bed and made that drive to sing at church! (And no, I did not let this sweet lady walk to her car in the rain to get her white sweater for me. I just started feeling warmer after her thoughtful offer.)
I love this song- I sorta think just about everyone loves this song. Originally, of course, it was written and performed by Peter Gabriel. Lots of people have done versions of this song (including me!), and I think this is my favorite version of all.
I love Sara Bareilles' voice always. I also like how this song was arranged. I love how it starts off with the piano, and then builds with more and more instrumentation throughout, and then gets quiet again with mainly just her and the piano at the very end. So nice. So easy to listen to.
And I would be remiss if I didn't also stick Peter Gabriel's masterful original up as well. It's one of my favorite songs of all time.
I've been thinking about why I just signed up for a painting class at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas. It's not just because I want to learn something. It's not just because I wanted to fill up a blank canvas, so to speak. It's not just because I was hoping to meet some new cool people. It's because I have always believed that art begets art.
Look at Joni Mitchell. The creative endeavor she's most famous for is her music, but as you likely know, she is a painter too. In fact, she did the artwork for many album covers. What a cool way to combine her talents.
David Bowie is also a visual artist, and an actor. You've probably seen some of John Lennon's drawings. Tony Bennett has a book of his artwork. That list goes on and on.
We also know of actors who do music. To name a few: Russell Crow, Kevin Bacon, and lately I've even heard a song by Anna Kendrick on the radio.
I always wonder if there might be something I'd really love to do, and be great at doing, that I've never even tried yet. So I keep trying various art forms. I've dabbled in mosaics, drawing, and ceramics to name a few. And although I wouldn't say I necessarily excelled in any of those, they did all get me into that creative zone, and that in itself is magic.
I actually wrote a song about that very thing a few years ago. I was taking a mosaic class and I was just so in love with putting those tiny pieces together, to see if I could fit them together to make something beautiful. I came home after a class one day, feeling very inspired and wrote my song, "Magic", which is on my Walk Beside Me CD. (For my video, I used some photographs I took when my husband and I were on our trip in New England during the Fall Foliage- That was magic!)
Art begets art.
"Magic"
A thousand tiny pieces, I try to make them fit
'cuz it could be exquisite, when I'm thru with it
I'm not sure where it's heading, this long and winding road
But I sure love the mystery of where it's gonna go
But there's no rush to this
This is magic, it is
It's turning into something, and it's such a great surprise
To see it all unfolding right before my eyes
I see the way the colors have learned to catch the light
And finally all of those pieces have lined up just right
But there's no rush to this
This is magic, it is
I get lost in every moment, and the time disappears
There's nowhere else but right here
I just listed this repurposed vintage necklace in my Etsy shop...
vintage blue daisy pendant on vintage silver chain
And this one...
vintage butterfly pendant with vintage chain and colorful beads
It's funny. I mention Etsy all the time, assuming that because I'm so into it, everyone else must be too. But lots of times, people will ask, "What's an Etsy", or actually, lots of times they ask, "What Eatzi? Isn't that a restaurant somewhere around here?" (Um, yes it is. And no, that is not at all what I'm referring to...) People who have heard of it and shopped there before usually say, "Oh cool! I LOVE Etsy!"
I'm sort of jealous of you if you don't know about Etsy yet. And I hope I'm the one who will guide you to it! You're about to discover something so cool!
Etsy is an e-commerce website where sellers sell direct to customers, and all of the goods are either handmade, vintage, or a little
E is for Etsy
less exciting, supplies. It's like going to the best and biggest flea market/craft fair from the comfort of your own home, anytime of the day or night!
For Christmas this year, I bought all my gifts from Etsy. For each person I was buying for, I'd type in a few key words of things they like. For example, my brother is the maker of the coolest cruiser bikes on the planet. He lives and breathes those bikes. So I typed in "vintage cruiser bike". If you click on that phrase you can see all the cool stuff that is pulled up for you to look at... Graphic t-shirts, metal work, photographs, jewelry, and paintings all with bicycles as the theme. I ended up getting him a really cool keyring holder. It was made of medal, and it was in the shape of a cruiser bike, or course! How long would it have taken me to find something so cool, unique and perfect for him had I gone to the mall?
Etsy takes out the middle man. You're buying directly from the maker of what you're interested in. The seller makes it, packs it up, and ships it out to you. And it's always fun to see how they do that... Some people do fancy, creative stuff, and some people skip that part. Usually you get a handwritten note from the seller. I love that! When you're buying direct, you get the best customer service, because they really care about making the customers happy!
So head over to Etsy.com, right now! Do a little poking around... for yourself, or for someone else. And while your there, check out my little shop called Resparkable Vintage, where I sell repurposed vintage jewelry- and a little untouched vintage jewelry as well!
I'm so jealous!! You're going to have so much fun!!
This song is on a radio station my husband and I started listening to when he got his rent car while his car was in the shop. It was just programmed in. Fermin is one of those people who keeps the dial on whatever station it's on (unlike me). We crack up all the time at some of the songs on there. Also, all the commercials are in Spanish so we like feeling like we're bilingual- which, by the way, neither of us are, so we have no idea what any of the commercials are for, which is sort of a beautiful thing.
The station plays about 20 songs, over and over and over and over, sometimes ad nauseam. But it does helped us get familiar with these songs in a big hurry.
We both agree, this is our favorite song that the station seems to play every hour on the hour. From the second we heard it, it was an instant classic- "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams. Seriously, I love this one!! Es mi favorito!
'Tis now the month of June. And since my birthday falls during this month, I thought, "Why not have a little celebration and have my first sales event in my Etsy shop?"
Vintage umbrella pendant necklace
Lots of repurposed vintage jewelry has been marked down for the first 2 weeks of June. (June 1 thru June 15, to be exact!)
Here are just a couple of items on sale now!!
Vintage butterfly bouquet necklace
In case you have an Etsy shop and decide you want to have a sale too, here's how I went about it:
I found a cool little website called "Etsy on Sale" that made it so easy to do the markdowns! I had put off this little task for weeks, not knowing how to do it, and thinking it might be real time consuming. But I finally got to it yesterday, and once I Googled "How to put Etsy items on sale", I was led me to the Handmadeology site with this great little tutorial, and it took me no more than 15 minutes! Which goes to show, procrastination is the biggest time waste of all!
So hop over to ResparkableVintage and check out the sale items... and everything else... Happy shopping!