Found Items Made New Again

I'm at the market today altering some recently found items that will soon be new earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

Please come into my work studio with me through these photos. :)

Do you recognize any of these items?

Loralei's Heart of Centerville Event

Many thanks to Loralei's for a wonderful evening with Art in the Heart of Centerville Friday, May 18, 2012.  They invited me to be their featured artist and to demonstrate artwork involving their customers.

I offered up a choice of vintage buttons and other earring components to make earrings for only $3.  It was a very popular event! 

Here's a photo of our first happy customer wearing her new pair of Steph's Jewels' Vintage Button Earrings!  I would have taken more photos of happy customers, but I was busy making earrings!  :)

New Year. New Lovely Ladies.

With Handmade Dayton Etsy Team's monthly meeting scheduled for tomorrow, I wanted to bring some "freebies" to share.  We like to send our customers little samples as a way to promote each other's Etsy shops.

I had so much fun last year incorporating beautiful images of Vintage Lovely Ladies into my jewelry, that I thought it might be nice to try them in a "freebie" promo item.  Little images found their way onto mini oval glass tiles mounted on pretty little filigrees.  They turned out so cool that I'm going to do something special with them... not sure what yet.... but they will definitely become the focal point of a new Steph's Jewels series.  Here's a sneak peek...

Now... I have two dilemmas.  1.) Just what exactly to design using them.  and 2.) A new idea for "freebies".  :)

While searching a flea market in Corbin, Kentucky, I found this lovely vintage rhinestone necklace with several links - what a find!  Each of these pretty little links may be just the perfect marriage my new Lovely Ladies desire!

I snapped a photo of this beautiful painting in the bathroom at a favorite coffee shop recently.  She will be a new project soon as well... stay tuned...

Any ideas on a perfect name for her?

Shoot! Live Model Photos!

While I know Etsy has recommended the use of live models for wearable art photos, I've never done it.... til now. And I'm excited to show you the results!

Our dear friends, Trix and Brian, have two beautiful high school age daughters and they happily agreed to try it. We had so much fun!



We met at 7:30am on a very hot July Saturday morning and chose 15 necklaces for each girl to model. How we chose the necklaces became a very fun rotation.

1.) They each chose one for themselves.
2.) I chose one for each of them.
3.) They each chose one for each other.

So we had a wonderful mix and they did such a great job. I thought they may be a bit self-consious and embarrassed to pose, but they are both natural models! Another thing that's so great about these sisters is that they are 15 months apart and are each others' best friend, too.

These photos are my favorites and it may be because they are wearing the special necklace they chose as payment for being my models!

And here's my favorite one of the sisters together :)

Thank you, Girls, for being supermodels for Steph's Jewels!

Summer Festivals

Last weekend, at the Waynesville Second Saturday Street Faire and Car Show, I had the pleasure of displaying artwork with two lovely ladies - Gina and Smash.

Though sales were not the best, it's always a good day when you can meet and greet other Dayton area artists and enjoy fellowship!

I will be posting on Facebook at Julie Jamison Crusenberry when other festivals come up this summer and fall. Please come join us... you'll be glad you did!