Cartwheels In My Mind

Fashion Ambush: cEleb necKlaces

Who remembers my fashionista friend Haley? Well, if the name isn't ringing a bell then click on that link and hop on over to refresh your memory. 

She is now designing her own line of jewelry. I'm going to let you in on a little secret right now... TAYLOR SWIFT'S personal stylist just grabbed 4 out of the 5 pieces she hand designed for Taylor. Where will Taylor be wearing these? Oh, I don't know perhaps on her tour that she's on RIGHT NOW promoting her new album that was just released!!! THIS IS A BIG DEAL PEOPLE!!! Get excited! Why?!? Because Cartwheels is the first to release this big news! 

She has so graciously let us take another inside look into her personal success in the fashion world.  

The House Sparrow is a vintage jewelry collection of found pieces (pendants, keys, medallions). Each piece is unique because of my individual care and attention. All the packaging is antique tins (tobacco tins, old school Jack Daniels tin, tar soap tin...included in the tin is your custom necklace and you could also find a fortune, an old postcard...)

All materials used are antique and some dated early 1900's. 

Psalm 84:3
Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

 

These are just a few pieces that she's designed. Aren't they amazing?! All I can say is, this series of necklaces have already caught the eyes of personal stylists in Nashville and will soon be reaching out to many more. How exciting!!! If you would like to find out more about how YOU could get one of these pretties you can always email me at: [email protected].

Be on the lookout for the House Sparrow coming to a boutique {and celeb} near you! 

Jumpstart On A Tuesday :: Ring Organization.

Hello again, my friends! I'm sorry to say you are stuck with lots of Cheryl today...but hopefully I'll be able to inspire you at least a little. :)

This afternoon I wanted to share one of my favorite organizational/home decor ideas. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of handmade jewelry, especially when it comes to making my own rings...and mixing in a little home decor just sends me over the top. So when I found this little bird feeder in a vintage shop recently for a little bit of nothing I knew I had to get it to hold all my handmade rings. (I have seen them at tjmaxx, marshalls, kohls and a few other stores so I'm pretty sure it's not true vintage, but I'm ok with that. :D)

The color that the rings bring to the little dish and the accessability just makes me happy. I actually have it sitting in my art studio to provide a little extra inspiration to the room and within reach if I'm in a hurry to go somewhere and want to add a little something extra to my look for the day. Now if I could just get Gracie and Londerpants trained to NOT want to play with all the colorful pretties tempting them at eye-level I'll be good to go!

Do you have any fun organizatonal tips? I'd love to see them if you do!

Mind On Metal: Trinket Pins Leaf Necklace

 

I have lots and lots of decorative pins that I rarely use for my crafty projects. When I do though, it's a miracle. You will most likely find them sticking out on my cork board or sitting in a clear jar, looking pretty.

 

Never did I think about using them as beads for my jewelry.

 

To keep with the fall theme, I picked out the leaf pins.

 

Use snippers or flush cutters to remove sharp end of pin, leaving just over 1/4 of an inch attached to the leaf.

 

Create a simple loop using round nose pliers. The stick pins have a coating on them, you'll notice them flaking off when making the loops...use steel wool to remove excess of coating, making sure not to scrap surface of the leaf.

 

Attach each one to a loop on the chain, making sure they are evenly spaced and wear throughout the fall season.

Tip: Because the simple loop has a slight opening at the bottom, leaves will easily fall off the chain. To prevent this from happening, wrap wire around bottom of simple loop twice. Snip off excess and use flat nose pliers to squeeze more firmly. This will create a wire wrapped loop and a more finished look without your creation falling apart.

Maya Road also carries these trinket pins in turquoise and brown, which would be fun to mix up the colors creating a cluster to dangle from your ears or hang around your wrist. Think that would be pretty.

 

Cheers :)

 

I Got The Bling...Ruffle Necklace.

I'm a girl that loves change. The new, the fresh...the never-before-seen is so exciting to me. And that's why on any given day you will see me wearing new jewelry that I made within the past week (I'd love to change the hair and clothes just as often but that takes a bit more money.). In fact, very often if I'm going somewhere I will make my jewelry the same day I wear it...usually after I'm dressed and know what I'm wearing. Which means I have ALOT of jewelry lying around that has only been worn once. And it's also the reason that the vast majority of that jewelry is fairly easy to make...which makes it fun to share! :)

Yesterday as I was digging through my vintage button container, I was drawn to alot of the golds and creames and whites, which made me want to design a necklace around them...and this yellow ruffle necklace was the outcome:

To design it, I simply took a long piece of yellow linen ribbon that I bought at a flea market and pleated it up and then stitched it together along the top to keep the folds in place. (The actual ribbon container calls it blanket binding and it has stitching on both the top and bottom, which gives it more of a finished look without doing as much work).

Next I just placed the buttons a little off-center and then stitched them into a cluster along the left top of the necklace.

And to complete it I stitched the gold chain right onto the back of the yellow fabric...reinforcing it by doing it over and over and over.

And as easy as that, I had a brand-new necklace that took less than an hour to make! :)

What are you designing this week?

Thrift Shop Fabulous; Vintage Brooch Ring.

Happy weekend, everyone! Who's in the mood for a simple (but fabulous!) vintage ring project?

I have been collecting vintage brooches ever since my friend Amy and I discovered our mutual love for all things antique, thrift and vintage a couple years ago when I moved back home to Ohio. And up until recently I had them saved in a little box that I would peek into every now and then and think to myself about all the lovely projects I would do with them ONE DAY. But if there is one thing I've learned over the course of this whole Cartwheels adventure (besides the fact that it IS possible to still function after going 48 hours without sleep), it's to seize each opportunity and to create when the inspiration hits. Which is why this morning I turned one of my favorite gold brooches into a one-of-a-kind vintage treasure that I can wear on my finger anytime I feel like it.

To create the project, I simply fastened the brooch pin around the ring blank and then squeezed a little dab of Amazing Goop Craft Glue in between the blank and the back of the brooch to ensure that it stays in place.

 
And just like that I was all dressed up with absolutely nowhere to go. :D

So excited to dive into my little collection and start making them all into something different...because to me that's the best part of this whole handmade art thing.

 

P.S. Want to buy this ring? E-mail me at: [email protected].

Kitschy Digitals, Wall Art & Pendants.

I love Kitschy Digitals; have for a long time now. Every design is unique and fun! I must say, I went a little overboard creating my projects with the digital kits, because I just could not chose one kit. I was really inspired and needed to play with them all. Mixing them up was the best part. I have found that I am really liking digital elements a little more now. Since I was inspired to step out of my box a little, I made two projects, Chalkboard Photo Wall Art & Kitschy Pendants.

Chalkboard Photo Wall Art

 

I Mixed & matched a variety of Kitschy digital kits with my wall art set. I selected a few of my favorite photos of my daughter, that showcase her personality and I am so excited how they turned out. It was really fun making these. I resized the Chalkboard papers down to 6x6 size, printed them out on the back of white cardstock & adhered them to black poster board. I used the Vintage Photo Frames digital kit to print out my photos on regular photo paper, each of which are displayed in different tones (color, b&w & the Seventies action by Pioneer Woman). Then I embellished each piece with a mix of digital elements from the Woodgrain Frames, Monotone Fresh Feathers & the Watercolor Doilies Paper Collection digital kits.

Kitschy Pendants

I wanted to make something super simple and easy to wear necklaces when the mood strikes. So, I decided to make some pendants. I made three in different sizes and shapes. When making each of these, I resized them to fit the shape without distorting the design of the images. The large circle pendant displays the pattern paper 'Patchwork' from the Calico Dream Digital Kit. I just love the bright & bold, vibrant colors and the pattern was just perfect. Then I continued with the same kit and made a rectangle style pendant using Mustard Gingham pattern paper & Red Calico Flower die-cut elements. Last one is my favorite!! I used a small square glass shape using the "Hearts" Chalkboard papers digital kit for this one. How cute would it be to make a bunch of these and give to your mom or best girlfriend as a gift? Even lovely for Valentine's!

Thanks a so much Danielle for sharing your amazing digital designs with us!!