I'm ....

from Marburger Farm Antique Show.

This five day show was the longest I've ever done.
Thankfully we had (pretty) great weather most of the time,
even though I almost melted a couple of afternoons.

I'm so thankful to have been a part of it,
as it turned out to be one of those experiences I'm glad I didn't miss.

I couldn't have done it without my selfless husband,

 my great friend Riki,

and my wonderful daughter ~ Melanie!

Before the show, we had two days of shopping in Warrenton...which was the BEST.
We shopped, laughed and walked a lot!
Here's a picture of Mary, Melanie and Riki
on what Melanie thought must have been the very first  

bike cab!
I saw old friends and met new ones.

Rita, Charlene, =), Sandy and Susie.

Amy, =) and Karen.

=) & Cindy (Crawford *wink*) 

 Sandy, Charlene, Susie, Karen, Joy

Rita, Cindy, Riki & =)
at Theresa's Blog Party.

 Barb from Arizona, who will be taking a couple of my classes

at Art Unraveled, stopped by to introduce herself,
which was such a surprise!

Here's a picture we took with Jenny, who is a Facebook friend from Minnesota.

Jenny actually caught me while Riki & I were walking through Warrenton.

She was there selling some of her jewelry!

And, of course, my great friend Agnes,

who gave me the opportunity to be a part of the show next to her in Tent "W".

This week I will share more pictures of what Riki and I did the day she arrived, 

as well as the next two days we spent in Warrenton.
One of those being with Mary and Melanie

 at the show opening of Clutter.
Yep....we had quite a time!

See you at the Blog Party

For the past two days I have been in Warrenton with my good friend, Riki.  

I shopped till I dropped, and am now home preparing for the

Blog Party tomorrow evening with Theresa.

I will be one of her featured guests, 

 so please come by her booth at Zapp Hall around 6 pm.

I will have my vintage jewelry boxes full & spilling over with some of the goodies 

I'll be selling at Marburger Farm Antique Show  

beginning Tuesday, March 29th!

Would love to see you there!

diane

xox 
BTW....Riki is still out there shopping =)

The Art of Presentation

"The Wedding"
Thank you Christen for including me in the newest issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry!

I am always amazed when I open up one of the most beautiful magazines
on the newsstands and see my jewelry.

It is truly humbling.

Even today, as I sit here, less than one month three weeks away from retirement from a full time job in finance, I find myself in awe of it all!

I have been working on this line, called Cabinet Card Jewelry, since last June, after finally having the opportunity to take a class with Deryn Mentock to learn more about Ice Resin.

I am smitten with resin,
and designed many pieces just before Marburger Farm.

I think Christen did a marvelous job in writing the article, which included pictures of my bracelet and earrings.  But, the main piece, the necklace which actually has the picture of my grandmother wearing her wedding veil (which you see in my blog header), did not appear in the article.
So, here it is.

"My Grandmother's Veil"

Made with layers of vintage rhinestones, various vintage brass chains, as well as chain I design using vintage baroque pearls and one of my favorite Brass Bouquet findings,
the very vintage connectors.
I had been saving two identical rhinestone clasps I bought in Warrenton, which doubled as great connectors as well as clasps.

"Baroque Dangles"

The earrings are dainty.  

I loved them so much, I made a pair for myself, just a tad different, 

and wear them almost every day.

The issue hit the stands December 1st!

It has super how-to articles written by my friends 

Riki Schumacher and Barbara Lewis.

And, congratulations to my friends Cindy Wimmer, Esther Ramos,

 Renate Starke-Kramer, Veronique Perez and Sharon Borsavage,

for their Around the World: A Necklace Round-Robin article.

It was great to finally see their designs.

They really did so much more than what was revealed in the article, so if you have the time to jump over to their blogs, you'll be able to read about their experiences, see their beautiful jewelry journals, 

and find out all about their round robin trip!

Plus, the Designer Collection in this article is none other than the talented 

Melissa Manley.  

She is an extremely talented jewelry designer and artist!

And, there's one more.  

In the back of the magazine, is a beautiful boutique of jewelry, where my friend  

Stephani Gorman has a beautiful piece of jewelry, 

called Dancing in the Moonlight!

So, you can see, I am not alone.  There is a wealth of goodies and friends in this issue.

You will love it all.  I promise =)

Resin Love

"Heart of Love"
I love to layer necklaces.
This piece is one (layer) of two necklaces I finished just before Marburger.

I did not begin with this layer.  This is layer number two.

The technique I used is one (very similar)
to that I'll teach this December in College Station.
(See link for class details just to the left on sidebar).
The focal was made using a piece of signature "damask" etched brass from my stash, brass filigree and connectors.  But before connecting, I hammered the edge, then added a brass eyelet to place a Puffy Heart below it as a dangle.  I wire wrapped my favorite vintage baroque pearls, adding bead caps.
I added two layers of chain, one being oxidized brass infinity chain and the other, an oxidized silver link chain.  I often mix brass and silver in my jewelry, this one being no different.  I added three of the Mini Puffy Hearts to the silver chain.

"Strong"
This was the first layer I designed of the set.

I poured ICE resin.
One of MANY resin pieces I designed just in time for the festival.

This one was special.  It was for me.
This is my Grandmother's wedding picture.
(psss....watch for her in an upcoming Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine)
You will recognize it from the picture you see on the left side of my blog header, as this is Rosa.  My father's mother.

Rosa had a Czech mother and a German father.
She didn't speak much English.  Very little in fact.

She was a small woman.  She was a strong woman.  

I wanted to wear a special resin piece at the festival. 
I designed this piece to be worn long.  It is what I refer to as the bottom layer of the set. 
I used a flex shaft to drill thru the resin charm to place a double layer of eyelets.

I wire wrapped my favorite vintage baroque pearls, then added a double layer of Cable Chain, a vintage bead cap, an oxidized crystal rondell, oxidized brass infinity chain, using the simple hook that came with the infinity chain, as the closure.
I decided to use brass Heart-Lets in a way that does not say charm.
I designed a connector using two, putting them together with 2-4mm jump rings.
I really like how it turned out.
A nice delicate link, with a great vintage feel.

Now it's time to put the two layers together.

Love it.  

I can wear one or the other. 

I can wear them together.

I'd love for you to join me in College Station on December 18th.
Contact me for more details.
It will be a fun class.

Scenes from Tent "W"

I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  

One, I believe, is my appreciation for the simple things. 

If the truth be known, it is the things from the past that make me most happy.  

Such as the color of this set of enamelware funnels Agnes had on a table outside her tent.  They sat right across the court yard where I had an additional table set up to sell jewelry.

Yes, my very own space, and it was divine. 

Agnes gave me the best spot on the best side of Tent "W"
in my opinion. 

She pulled back one of the flaps, giving me a cubby inside, with the option to expand out into the shade covered courtyard, which I gladly took advantage of.  

Did I tell you how gloriously the weather cooperated?  It was cool and crisp each morning, so we never ever broke a sweat.
Do you remember where the festival is held?
Yes, in Texas....where it is miserably hot and humid most of the year.  

But, not this week.  Cool fronts came in lowering the humidity a smidgen, just enough to make us all jump up and down with joy!  It did get a little heated up at the end of the week, but I was long gone by then.  Pulling out on Thursday helped me miss the return of the dreaded heat on Friday.
But once home, Saturday again was beautiful.  

Low humidity~what a blessing!

Agnes, along with her sister Robin, and friend, Carla,
decorate Tent "W". 

It was beautiful, full of all the colors of fall.

Spicy fall fragrances poured through the tent and out the sides in such a way that lured customers thru the doors in one continuous stream both days I was there.  

I am sure it continued that way until the end of the show...it always does!

 I would love to share pieces of my little corner, but will do that just a little bit later.

Until then, you may want to visit my friend Charlene's blog.  

She has some sweet shots of my space there. 

Thank you Charlene....

"Crystal Princess Drops"

I had many for sale out in the court yard of Tent "W", where they could catch the rays of sunlight coming thru the live oak trees.
I do sell the tutorial here, but if you'd like one that came home with me, I will send it special to you, snugly wrapped and tucked inside one of my muslin bags for $42.
The Crystal Princess Drop is made with a beautiful vintage faceted chandelier crystal*, vintage rhinestone earring, base metal chain and one of my simple oxidized sterling silver hook and eye.
It can be worn by itself, or layered with other pieces of jewelry.
My sister loves hers, and wears it often, as do I.
Oh, yes, this also includes the shipping AND
the tutorial to make your very own Crystal Princess Drop for family and friends =)
The holidays are coming sooner than you realize!
*Please indicate if you'd like a small (1"x1-1/2") or large (1-1/2"x2") crystal.
You choose the size of the crystal, but please allow me to choose the one to send...you won't be disappointed as they are all beautiful.

(click to enlarge)

marburger and more....

(Picture above was taken at Magnolia Pearl's Booth)

Marburger has come and gone.  It was an incredible experience. 

I loved every minute of it.

I saw old friends, and met new ones.

Susie and Charlene 

Thank you for coming to Marburger and hanging out with me.

I love you both!

But in the middle of it all, actually Wednesday evening, I received a call from my older sister, Debbie, that my dad, who has been in a nursing home for the last 5+ years, was probably not going to be with us very much longer.

We were with him until Thursday afternoon, and at approximately 4:30 p.m. he departed this life.

The last couple of days has been difficult, yet peaceful.

You see, my father has had Parkinson's Disease since his late thirties.

He was 77 years old.

Parkinson's is a disease that takes the life out of living.  It rules every minute of your every day, and destroys your very being.  

It is a hard road to walk.

Like his mother, my grandmother Rosa, and his father, Edmund Sr., my dad was strong, and he chose to never stopped going.

He was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather, 

and a great-grandfather.  

He was a cattleman.  

He worked in the cattle business all of his life.

He was a fisherman.  

He had a beautiful lake on his property, which he loved.

Yesterday was his wake.  He will be buried today.

Dad, we will miss you.

I love you....

Dad at age 20.

 Dad's 68th Birthday.

Front Row:  Me, Jewel (my stepmother), Dad, Amy (my half sister)

Back Row:  Debbie (my sister), Chuck (my half brother) and Carrie (my sister).

(Not shown is my brother Chris).

almost here

It's getting closer.

Only four more days...

Marburger Farm 

here I come!

 

etched & layered

'"Grace"

"Fly Away"

"Quiet Glitz"

I love designing these!

I could layer all day and all night, and not get tired!

These are (a couple) of my newest Etched & Layered Cuffs.  

They'll soon be stuffed into my vintage jewelry boxes,

headed to Marburger!  

I am so excited, as I am actually listed on the site as a vendor, 

for the first time.  (Thank you Agnes =)

See you there....just over a week now!

in the dark

 "Rhinestones and Rosaries"

 I was not familiar with Jet, until I bought a multi-strand necklace which contained much of it.  I really liked the necklace for the chain it contained...lots of vintage, gold-toned chain that went well with brass.
But then I found out it was the Jet bar shaped beads where the real deal was made.  

And, the clasp....ah! I loved the clasp.

I have used the chain for just about everything the last couple of months, and now it is almost gone.  Yikes!  I have been frantically looking for more online, but none to be found.  That's the way it works sometimes.  Actually a lot of times.
Maybe I'll find some at the festival.... =)

But it was just about a week ago, I also started digging into the rosaries I have been hoarding (for myself and my future classes), and found a faceted Jet rosary with the most wonderful brass cross.  Now, I remember....THE cross was the reason I bought the rosary, as I usually don't use much black in my designs. 

Isn't it stunning?  Love the detail.

So, I decided the two must go together for my next Rhinestones and Rosaries necklace.
I hadn't made one since the Art Walk last May.
Once completed, I remembered why I was so excited when I finished the very first one, and why I sent it in as a class proposal for Adorn Me! 2011.  I loved mixing the two original pieces of jewelry~one necklace/one rosary~
is now ONE.
This process is always like a puzzle to me, which totally blows me away,
and is exactly why I love doing what I am doing.   
This one will be coming with me to Marburger,
along with a simple pair of earrings.  

Understated and elegant.  I like that.
I think that best describes (what I strive for) in my style of jewelry.

"Jet Dangles"
Faceted Jet rosary beads, some of my (very limited stash) vintage chain, vintage rhinestone buttons and dainty rhinestone dangles,
which I don't have many left of either!

And here is what I found about about Jet, just in case you too were "in the dark".
Jet, which is actually fossilized coal, as a gem material was highly popular during the reign of Queen Victoria, during which the Queen wore Whitby Jet as part of her mourning dress. Jet was popular for mourning jewelry in the 19th century because of its somber color and modest appearance, and it has been traditionally fashioned into rosaries for monks. In the United States, long necklaces of Jet beads were very popular during the 1920s, or Roaring Twenties, when women and young flappers would wear multiple strands of jet beads stretching from the neckline to the waistline. In these necklaces, the Jet was strung using heavy cotton thread; small knots were made on either side of each bead to keep the beads spaced evenly, much in the same way that fine pearl necklaces are made. Jet has also been known as black amber, as it may induce an electric charge like that of amber when rubbed.

I also found out, when burnt with a red-hot needle, Jet smells like coal. Black glass and plastics are often used to imitate Jet (glass is much heavier and harder than Jet) - Jet is warm to the touch.

Well, I haven't given it the burn test.  Maybe tomorrow.