March 2nd 2015

What a few weeks!  Did you miss me?    Had to get the computer rebuilt and so I missed our chat.    I have now made arrangements so I won't leave you lonely again!

This weeks coffee assisted wandering across the inter webs included too many funny pet videos (don't judge me)  and a rehash of the melted silver in pine needles technique (my first few tries are ....not great) and research for a few custom orders.  When I started this adventure in jewelry I didn't even think about custom orders  but they come in and I am thrilled.    With Mothers Day approaching I have orders coming in and its so much fun figuring out how to put things together.    This afternoon I will be making up two more necklaces and two pairs of earrings to join the pretty pile of chiffon bags by my front door waiting on pickup and mailing!

I won't be making these however: http://youtu.be/e4A720TeqWc  Nope!  The top ten most expensive pieces of jewelry in the world are a little teeny tiny bit out of my range.    

I also wanted to fix up a ring that lost a stone...so practicing my setting techniques. This blog is good for that:

http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2012/07/25/intro-to-stone-setting-essential-tools-for-setting-stones-in-bezels-and-other-settings.aspx

And lastly I wanted to share my treasure hunt updates.  I was perusing FreeCycle and decided to post an ad asking for broken and unwanted treasures - and in return I would donate to the food bank.  And it worked!!   I have been the lucky recipient of quite a few bags of treasure and the Food Bank is getting its donations regularly.      Plus these kind folks get to declutter, and avoid landfill!  Win!!

I thought that was pretty sharp of me,   patting myself on the back and avidly waiting for yard sale season to start!   Do you have any ideas how I can source supplies?

Hope your March is off to a good start....I will be choosing a local charity to donate a Dawnings creation to for our March good will gesture.    Ideas?

Chat soon!
Dawnings

p.s.  Here are some of this weeks creations - available on Facebook or Etsy.

Sunday Feb 7 2015


What did we see on this mornings coffee round up?   Glad you asked!

Well, did you see these glorious gems and beads at the Tuscon show?   I am in awe of the (what seems to be miles of..) beads and sparkly things.  Check them out here:  http://www.tgms.org/show-2015/  I follow these guys on Facebook and am wondering how I get there next year!

And look at what this artist does with old tires!      http://yonghoji.com/db/?ckattempt=1

Toby Malms mother and child sculpture...me want!  His stuff is simple and elegant and eloquent  http://www.jernmalm.com


Do you like the delicacy of silver filigree?  

See how its done here:  http://youtu.be/pLShQYztBHI

Not sure I will ever try it but it really is beautiful!

Our new postings are up on Facebook - we had fun with bangles this week.  Let us know what you like?

Bangles, Bangles, Bangles! 

Remember the leather we recovered from the
furniture store....isnt it beautiful!

Here is what we made with it this week

Looking forward to chatting with you!


Dawnings

Wednesday Jan 14th 2015

Good Morning, and what a frosty morning it is!   What was I thinking when I chose Canada as my new home I wonder, when the Bahamas or Turks & Caicos could have been my destination - sun, sand, sun, did I mention sun?

Whats it like where you are?   Hope you are warm and toasty.

Here is a sampling of our recent items, we are ramping up now for a home show (never thought I would do one of those but here goes!  Friendly faces and a glass of wine will make that adventure easy! I will post some pics!)   And we finalize a date this weekend for a craft show we are doing just in time for Valentines!

So, stay tuned Dawnings friends,  lots of lovely sparklies being created as I make sure I have enough things to fill up a table!

  Chat soon!
D

Sunday Coffee Roundup Jan 11 2015

This morning I had some lovely conversations with creators and artists on Twitter. This kind of surprised me because sometimes Twitter feels like I'm in a room of people all talking at once, so its nice to make a personal connection!

I didn't find much on my treasure hunts this week,   sometimes I luck out, sometimes I don't.     I usually have a few items in a box that I can use so I am not stuck!

We are bit random this morning, listening to Amos Lee and mellowing out.  

Where do I find my materials?  I get asked this all the time.

I try very very hard not to use new items, except for pierced earring wires and threads.

I am a constant presence at charity stores, vintage flea markets, yard sales, freecycle and kijiji.  I join every Facebook group I can find in order to trade, and discover items.    Friends and family are always dropping off little bits and pieces.      I pick up belts, keychains, necklaces, chains, bracelets, loose beads, findings and connectors everywhere I go.  

As you can imagine,  it takes a lot of time to dig through all that and find the right bead, finding, chain, stone and then clean it, polish it, take out chips, or dents.   Fix chains and findings,  partner things and take them apart when they don't...click.   The best part is when I can create my own with pieces and solder, wire or link them somehow.

My favourites since I started are the found leather pieces from a furniture store that I still have so much exploring to do on,    the copper heat sinks (I love the colour!) and the spoons.       Who knows what will show up next!

When a piece does 'click' Im always so pleased,  the goal is to reuse things that would be thrown away, discarded or otherwise ignored.    Anything to avoid the landfill.

You may also have noticed we don't package in boxes, or on earring cards etc.  Thats on purpose as I'm trying not to add to the garbage!  I also hunt for reusable boxes and we use chiffon reusable bags so we keep the whole 'green' thing in mind.
Other coffee morning randomness:

I also discovered some awesome how to's on YouTube;

Molten silver with pine needles....interested?  I was, whoever thought of this was a genius!  The results are beautiful.   http://youtu.be/e0FxQpBb_n0

Love the celtic?    This awesomely simple tutorial by Jocelyn D shows a gorgeous celtic wire bangle being created.   http://youtu.be/RoEelDwyXO0

And this one by CSL designs is so elegant!  http://youtu.be/zH8P0IyEmNY

Go on - give one a try!  You know you want to!


Where do YOU get inspiration?  Where do YOU find materials?

Hope you have a great week!  I posted a few new things - you can find them on Etsy.  Hope to connect with you soon!
Dawnings

Jan 4, Sunday

We posted our new items this morning to the sounds of Abba (don't judge, you probably know all the words too!) and we are now going out to play in the snow!

Check them out... https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/DawningsCustomDesign


And after that - back to the task at hand!    

Work in progress, stay tuned! 

What are YOU up to today?

Distracted Much?

Today, today I was going to make rings. All day.  Yep, rings. Rings for your fingers, rings for your toes.   My new ring mandrel arrived this week and I thought whohoo!  I had been waiting on that for a while, and now I can get going.....and yes I did.

I made ..... earrings, three necklaces, and seven silver bookmarks from old spoons.   Hmm.  Did you see a single ring in that list?   No me neither.

Ah well,  I suppose we wait till the muse strikes us.     And on the plus side I practiced with the silver spoons, something I have been wanting to do for a while.     I picked up a dozen pretty souvenier spoons at the charity store to practice on before I use the really beautiful antique sterling spoons I have sitting just waiting to be upcycled!

So, tomorrows posting will have all this and the other items we made all this week.   I am bound to slow down a little once I'm back at work next week but its been a great two weeks just making' and mending' and fixing'.

Chat tomorrow,  posting day!

In other Dawnings news we applied to three craft fair this week - wish us luck in getting chosen!

Chat soon!
Dawn

Favourite Website Roundup

Over the holidays I discovered lots of new websites while sipping Godiva Chocolate Coffee (seriously, you have to try it, its delectable!  A gift from a treasured friend!)   You might already know these sites or have  few favourites of your own...(and if you do please please share them!)


So here goes, my top ten!

1.  Lots of free project downloads at JewelrymakingDaily: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/forums/
2.  These guys at Handmadeology have a lot of cool stuff: http://www.handmadeology.com/10-blog-topic-ideas-for-jewelry-designers/
3. Everything Handmade: I am SO trying the torch fired enamel earring tutorial from here: http://www.oheverythinghandmade.com/blog/
4. I think everyone knows Craftsy but just in case.... http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/10/tips-for-selling-handmade-jewelry/
5. These guys seem to have a great appreciation for conservation and give back  http://blog.handmade-beaded-gemstone-jewelry.com
6. We lucked into some leather this (last!) year so love Ninadesigns: http://www.ninadesigns.com/blog/category/how-to-make-jewelry/
7. I know they are commercial but great service and their videos are so easy!  Fire mountain gems:  http://www.firemountaingems.com/video.asp
8. Buzzfeed:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/46-ideas-for-diy-jewelry-youll-actually-want-to-w#.pvd5Y327ll
9. These guys at Allfreejewelry have SO many how to's! http://www.allfreejewelrymaking.com

And lastly (for now at least!) 

   10. Howcast - I also got some great tips for photos here:              http://www.howcast.com/guides/624-How-to-Make-Jewelry

Anyway, hope your Jan 1 is going well!

Let me know YOUR favourites! 

Ciao, 

Dawn

Did you see this?    Part of social media is spreading your wings far and wide - Linkedin is a great place to get advice and converse with like minded individuals. I have had some great chats with people there - and look!   I got profiled on this website from South Africa!

Feeling so global right about now!

http://workfromhomemembership.com/craftlistings/handcrafted-jewelry-dawnings-custom-designs/

Big thanks to our new friend Robert Bruce Anderson!   Take a browse through the crafting world in South Africa on his site!

Dawn

And did you see? New items are up for sale in my Etsy shop - take a look - recycled copper heatsinks turned into beautiful creations!   https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/DawningsCustomDesign

I take the heatsink, polish it, file it down a little (they are pretty rough edged) and then work them.   I cut, texture, dome, heat and generally experiment till I like the look and then (because I really love contrasts) add something - silver, pearl - who knows what I will find in my box of treasures.      

 Love these things,  the copper is gorgeous and the recycling a  huge bonus.   

<wicked laugh> Spouse is getting nervous as I keep eying all electronics now, wondering what is in them that I might use! 

Dawn

Thought I would share this mornings coffee search - every morning after dealing with dogs and kids I sit and look for inspiration. There are some AMAZINGLY creative folks out there. I am constantly in awe of what people come up with.

Where do you get YOUR inspiration?  Please share!

Check out this amazing creation- old pipe turned into strange beauty

So awesomely creative! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZvPYGX9Tbk&sns=tw … via @youtube



Cracked Marbles....into wearable art

Cut out and Keeps site - excellent tutorial on turning marbles into jewelry!  I gotta try it, going to raid kids toy box!   Marbles, Glue and findings.   All credit to Ivy M on the Cut out and Keep site!  (I couldn't get the link to work so here are the details.

1. 1   Bake marbles in the oven for 20 minutes at 400〫F.
   (I found changing the temperature has little affect.)
   I baked the marbles in foil on a cookie sheet.
2. 2
   Immediately after removing the marbles from the oven, put them in ice water (be careful, the marbles are extremely hot). This will cause the marbles to crack! Also be careful of some weak marbles that may break entirely.
3. 3
   Put the metal bead and bead cap on the earring hook (you may also use the small looped jewelry wire things.. I wasn't sure what they were called). Bend the hook to somewhat hold the bead cap on the bottom and cut the excess wire.

   1. 4
      Next you can either use jewelry glue to attach the marble to the little top you have just made, or use hot glue. I tried both, and the hot glue tends to fall off occasionally.
   2. 5
      Now just add a cute chain and you're finished!