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!

My cousin, Mary Ellen, holds a Holiday Open House and Sale at her house every year right before Thanksgiving. It's become a tradition over the past 10 years and her friends and associates visit to get a head-start on their holiday shopping!

I've been lucky enough to be part of this fun event for the past three years and her guests have grown to love my jewels. Man, I just love it when people love and appreciate my jewels!

This year was extra special because the day after our big event, Mary Ellen got out her stash of family jewelry. Her parents, my uncle and aunt, have recently passed away and to her delight, they kept many momentos that Mary Ellen didn't expect to find!

We played around with the items, thinking about all the ways we could incorporate these treasured items into new jewelry for Mary Ellen.

With my beloved Uncle Tom's Navy dog-tag and peacoat button and other special things, we made what Mary Ellen now calls her "Daddy Necklace".

Wow.

My Vintage Button Obsession

So.... my vintage button obsession continues...

Some would call it an addiction. Some would call it a peculiarity. I just call it a recent obsession.

I'm obsessed with finding buttons.


Special vendors at the Springfield Antique Show, the Indianapolis Fairgrounds Flea Market, and an antique mall in Waynesville have had beauties. My friend, Heather, took me to the shop in Lebanon that used to be where Maddie Lisee lived and he had some beauties, too. My friend, Jana, found a huge lot of vintage buttons at a recent garage sale and she let me hand-pick some of my favorites from her batch (in exchange for jewelry, of course... I love our Handmade Dayton Etsy Team trades... another blog entry for another time.) Some of the buttons in her garage sale find are ones that I've never seen before!

I'm obsessed with sorting and displaying my buttons.


I sort by gender first. There are female and male buttons.... Yes, there are... Think about it... Then I sort by color and size. I'm using an old typesetters box to display them on a coffee table. Wow! Some may not think this is exciting, but it definitely quivers my liver!



I'm obsessed with, of course, making jewelry using buttons.


Bracelets are my favorite. But the little button earrings have been a hit with my customers.

Give me a buzz if you'd like to check out the whole collection sometime. Maybe you'll find a special holiday gift for you or for someone else.

Button Rings!

I love wire-wrapping buttons to make rings! Most of the ones I do are vintage buttons, but while I was in California recently, visiting my daughter, Steph, and her family, we also made four button rings using new buttons in a pretty design.

Gave one to my friend, Lori, one to her daughter, Erica, and Steph and I each have one, too. I think that makes us a girlfriend club!

Also made a couple for my dear two year old grand-daughter, Ella. She is tickled pink and loves her new rings :)

Enjoy some photos and if you have a special button you'd like me to make into a ring, give me a holler.

Hugs and love,
Julie

Jewelry Birthday Party

Thank you, Kennedy, for including Aunt Julie in your 13th birthday celebration!




The girls had fun, I had fun, and they took home some handmade pendant necklaces :) I was amazed by their unique creativity!

Skeleton Key Necklaces

Skeleton keys... so intriguing.

I once bought some on ebay from a small town jail in Ohio who boasted that John Dillinger was once in their jail. They were filthy dirty when I bought them, but thanks to some good old soap and water... and a little rust remover on some of them... they are good as new and make great pendants on these necklaces.

Ok, so some high-profile jewelry companies have used keys as pendants, but theirs are not "original" vintage skeleton keys... and possibly even used by a sheriff to jail John Dillinger??? How's THAT for history?!

I think that's what I love about vintage items... it's the history of all of it. Who once used this key and how old is it and what was it used for? For me... that's what makes skeleton keys so intriguing.