A Return to Handmade Love

This week I just got a bee in my bonnet and had to post about all of the great handmade jewelry that I've been drooling over on Etsy. Then, I decided to look back over my old Handmade Love posts and saw that it was nearly exactly a year ago that I posted ones of these round-ups. About time! I decided to simply focus on jewelry in general this time, because, well, I'm obsessed (naturally).

 Bones and Things ~ Real Lavender Bloom Necklace

Ahh, flowers captured in a necklace. Pretty much perfection when you're as obsessed with flowers as I am. I LOVE this lady's work and actually have two of her art prints. I had a difficult time choosing just one piece to feature, but lavender is a favorite of mine, so I went with this one. What I love about her floral and plant pieces is the organic, natural shape to the resin that she traps them in. 

 Vintajia Adornments ~ Trinity earrings 

I love how the overly oxidized metal plays against the brightness of the yellow enamel on these. They're very rustic-boho-chic. This lovely maker is out of Australia. 

LJB Jewelry ~ Mixed Metal Bangle

In my humble opinion this bangle is pretty much mixed-metal perfection. This artist is based on the east coast and participates in many arts and crafts fairs out there. I wish I lived closer, cause it would be lovely to see her creations in person!

Willow Studio Jewelry ~ Spirit Shield Earrings

The enamel on these! The rusty, old look to them! Grittiness perfected! I love jewelry that has an old, rustic feel to it, and these perfectly fit the bill. They're more colorful than I usually go in for, but I think the artist has done a good job of balancing out all of the color with plenty of "grit."

Fail Jewelry ~ Mica Earrings

And, last but not least, more mixed metal, this time in earrings. This lovely lady usually does the San Francisco Renegade too, so you local folk are in luck. What I've gotta say (and this is gonna sound a little jewelry-maker-geeky) is: way to rock the cold connections! (meaning no torch work). I'm seriously impressed by the ingenuity of the design, and how effortlessly it blends into such an elegant, wearable pair of earrings. 

I hope everyone enjoyed looking at some non-Tangleweeds jewelry for a minute! I'll be back with these posts, most likely on a monthly basis, as more lovely, handmade goodness pops up in my life. Also, if you or someone you know makes really awesome goods, and you'd like to be part of my Handmade Love series, send me a message at tangleweedsjewelry@gmail.com and we'll talk!

LWM ~ A Typical Week

In a typical week, I always listen to quite a bit of country/americana. . . Like the album Begonias by Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell. . . 

I usually wear at least one outfit that is a combo of floral print skirt/boots/sweater with Tangleweeds jewelry. . . (earrings are from a fellow maker)

And I make several of my lariat style necklaces (you guys have nearly unanimously decided that these are some of your favorite Tangleweeds pieces), especially theses River Rock ones. . . 

Just a short and sweet Listening-Wearing-Making post for all of you this Thursday. I won't be back in this space until next week, so I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

April Tangleweeds Giveaway

That's right folks! With a new month brings a new Tangleweeds Giveaway. For this month we're calling to mind the old adage "April showers bring May flowers. . . "

We're offering up one pair of our Rain Drops earrings for one lucky winner! Simply leave a comment on this blog post with a little anecdote or detail about what you love about the spring time. I've really grown to love the comments everyone leave on these giveaway posts. You guys obviously put some thought into what you share!

We'll announce the randomly chosen winner here and over on Instagram on April 27th. Feel free to share this with folks you think would love Tangleweeds!

LWM: CAT Leggings!

Listening to. . . The new Brandi Carlile. I seriously can't stop listening to her newest album The Firewatcher's Daughter. It's a bit folksy, a bit pop, with great stories woven into it all. Enjoy! 

Wearing. . . The most amazing CAT leggings. Love these so much. In case you simply must have a pair, they're from NooWorks in San Francisco. 

And making! Well, I've been busy on so many designs lately, it's hard to narrow it down to just one, but if I had to, I'd say I've been making bunches of these covetable Featherlight necklaces. I'm slowly getting all of the colorways into my Etsy shop. Finally too! This is something I had hoped to have done a couple of months ago. Feels good to be rolling these out. 

FL Earthy ALL.jpg

I hope everyone's weekly is providing all you're hoping for!

Spring Time Sale is Here!

Good morning my fine blog readers and followers! I'm just dropping in today to officially announce the yearly Tangleweeds spring sale. Head on over to the Etsy shop and use coupon code "springtime" (all one word) and you'll receive 30% off your entire order. There's a great selection of new designs and classics to choose from. (And more new designs coming later this week and next!) Sale runs now through mid-April. Enjoy!

Full Circle - New Places, Favorite Places

This last week was all about finding my groove with my work/Tangleweeds schedule as balanced out by time for self-care. As I write this I'm dealing with a nasty cold, (boo!) bringing home the importance of taking care of myself even when things get really busy. I'm working from home today, resting as needed.

This past weekend Jeff and I went to Down Home music in El Cerrito for a free music show. It's a great place if you have a love/interest in country, americana, roots, blues music. While we were over there I finally stopped by the little button shop, Exclusive Buttons. They sell vintage buttons and the selection is amazing. Be forewarned tho, they're only open on Fridays and Saturdays. The buttons I picked up may find themselves into some one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces later this year. I'll make sure to share photos if and when they do!

In the studio there was lots of work on the classics: the swoops, the featherlight necklaces (which are currently sold out in my Etsy shop, but more will be added later this month), and the full circle earrings. 

I also decided to have a little sale for the rest of the month. This season I'll be discontinuing some designs to make room for new ones. A lot of the designs are older ones that I have either re-invented at this point, or they've ebbed in popularity. Everything in the shop is 25% off with the coupon code "jan2015" for the rest of this month. I figure it's a sweet little way to pick up something you've had your eye on for a while before it's gone for good! That last photo at the bottom is an example of one of the deigns that'll be discontinued. 

Al righty, it's time for me to make a big pot of tea and go curl up in bed with a book for a bit. I'm hoping this cold runs it's course in a quick manner!

Fall Equinox is Here

Yes, fall has arrived! Which in the bay area of course means lots of warm weather still to come, but the seasons evolving still gets me all excited for changes: for cleaning and de-cluttering (and not just the home, but the mind too!), for newness in the yard (plants changing colors, some curling up in hibernation for the cold weather to come), and (of course) new jewelry designs! 

I didn't think I was gonna be able to pull off a new collection in time for fall, but it happened! Called Shapes of Fall, this collection is inspired by this beautiful season and features many organic, natural shapes. I've gone less geometric with these pieces and more free-form. And, for the rest of the month I'll be having a 25% off sale in my Etsy shop with coupon code "SeptemberAir." The sale is good on ALL pieces, not just the new ones, fyi. 

I hope everyone has some time to stop and appreciate the beauty of today, the equal balance of light and dark, the changing colors, all of it! I had "scheduled" in some journaling and quiet relective time today, not realzing that I had scheduled it for the equinox. How more perfect could that timing be!

(Lastly, I'll be updating my events page with the rest of my events for the year soon, along with sending out a newsletter to all of my email subscribers. If anyone wants to be added to my newsletter, simply head on over to this page here and I'll make sure you receive my next installment.)

Handmade Love - Shades of Spring

Pretty spring colors are on my mind this week. When I stumbled upon the quilted wall hanging below, I knew that this week's theme for Handmade Love was going to be color based: fun, spring colors like pink, purple, pastels. 

Pastel Quilted Wall Hanging by Twiggy and Opal

I'd love to hang this quilt right above my bed's headboard. Would look perfect in my room!

Pastel Raindrop Garland by PeleMele

This garland would look pretty in the window of my new studio space. (Which is eagerly awaiting arrangement, decor and some new/old furniture!)

Mint Peach Geometric Necklace by Alina and T

When I first saw this necklace I thought it was made from wood, then I read the description and saw that they're actually handmade polymer beads. Rad! (I'm curious about exploring polymer myself.)

How's that for a good dose of spring = ) ? 

Assemblage of Loveliness

Something many people who are familiar with my work do not know is that I started out my jewelry making days creating elaboarte, beaded, assemblage type pieces. Lots of big, chunky necklaces. My work has evolved over the years and taken on a more minimal slant. But lately, as is want to happen with anyone in a creative field, I am craving some experimentaion. I've picked up a bunch of new materials to play with and I've dug through my old supplies for forgotten jewelry-making materials. I'm not sure exactly what is going to come of it, but as I've been sharing here on the blog, there will be new one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces in the near future. In the meantime, I wanted to share gorgeous, assemblage-style jewelry from other talented Etsy sellers. . . 

Snakeskin Jasper Assemblage Necklace
I love the colors of this piece, the earthy tones mixed with the sea-blue-green color. Also, the gold-leaf on that rough stone is a nice balance in contrasts. 

Rustic Rainbow Alegria Earrings
I love the way the beads are wire-wrapped around the main rectangle part. As a jewelry artist I'm always looking at the way another jewelry artist is connecting two (or more items together). That's what jewelry art is all about: connections.

Lost City Necklace
This piece really struck me as "wow!" The stitched fabric folds are just not something I've seen anyone else doing. Very innovative and fresh.

Rustic Tribal Metal Earrings 
I think my favorite part about these earrings is their subtle assymetry. I bet the way these dance when they're worn is really beautiful!

Textured Metal and Verdigris Earrings
Any jewelry artist that uses patina in such a lovely-yet-rough way has my love. I really think this pair is so perfectly balanced: the extra wire wrapping, the tiny beads at the top, the ceramic drops. Perfection!

I hope you all enjoyed this week's round-up of Handmade Love!

Handmade Love - New Feature

My newest weekly feature: Handmade Love. I debuted this on Easter as a way of showcasing artists whose work I just can't stop looking at! I'm going to try to base each post around a loose "theme" but I'll see how that goes =). This week, I'm featuring handmade components (for jewelry making) as I'm currently obsessed with branching out with my own work and incorporating other artists' handmade loveliness into my jewelry creations. When my supply budget is a little more flush, these are some of the wonderful pieces I may just have to have. . . 

Koroit Boulder Opal Cabochon

You can see my tastes are running towards the slightly worn and rustic, per the usual. You can click on any of the photo's titles and you'll be taken directly to the maker's Etsy shop. Maybe it'll inspire you to create something new this week too!