It's a dog eat dog world out there...and a new creative passion!

A few days ago I had coffee in Little Italy at a cute little cafe named Influx (which somehow always reminds me of reflux...maybe a retiree thing). My daughter Melissa, her husband Michael and my three precious grandchildren Emmet, Everett and Lilah were with me. Melissa mentioned that the nice little boutique next to the cafe sold some really cool jewelry. So, of course, we abandoned Michael with the kids and ventured in. The shop did indeed have some nice jewelry, mostly large bold statement pieces and some trendy leather wraparound bracelets. The large pieces did not appeal to me, but the earring bangles with semiprecious stones and wrapped beads on twine as necklaces were very interesting.

I had decided that my ultimate goal is to place my pieces on consignment in boutiques and start my own website rather than use Etsy or some of the other online selling sites. Why? Well, personally I think that there is so much good work being done out there and, in general, jewelry makers are so talented. However, they tend to undervalue their work. By mass marketing handmade jewelry, you are competing with thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of jewelry makers. Did you know that there are more than one million products available under the category of handmade jewelry on Etsy? Any many very nice earrings and even bracelets and necklaces are listed in the $10 to $20 range. So my thinking is if I can find one or two boutiques that would carry some of my pieces, that would give me a way to dip my toe in the water while I continue to build my skills.

Back to the little boutique that Melissa and I were exploring. It just so happened that I was wearing one of the ethnic looking necklaces that I had made recently beaded with ancient granite, coral and a Chinese coin on red silk twine. (See photo above.) I was quite taken with it. So, I asked the boutique owner if she ever considered selling handmade jewelry on consignment. She replied an enthusiastic, Yes!." At that point, she peered at my necklace and launched into an explanation about how her target market preferred big, bold statement pieces and that ethnic was, in effect, yesterday's rubbish. Hmph! I was so insulted. How dare she pooh pooh my latest work. Not to be deterred, I mentioned that I had made a number of small, delicate earrings with precious stones and pearls or crystals. "Oh, no, no no," she said. "I cannot carry small pieces. Shoplifting, you know." So I tucked in my tail, held my head high and sauntered out as if to convey that she had missed the greatest opportunity one could imagine.

What did I do? I went straight home and made a big, bold pair of earrings. (See photo above.) Well, they aren't that bold, but they were bigger than any earrings I had made in the past, large hammered 1-1/2 inch silver hoops (16 gauge) encircling beautiful teardrop Swarovski crystals that reflect a rainbow of colors. I created a wrapped cap for the crystal and a wrapped earwire for it all to hang on. The photo doesn't really do the piece justice. (I need to master close-up photography as well.) The earrings are dangly and fun. And the coolest thing is that I learned three new techniques (using tutorials downloaded from jewelrylessons.com):

• A simple techniques for making large hoops,
• How to create a wrapped bead cap (in essence a cone that sits on top of the bead), and
• How to create a lovely wrapped earwire.

So there, you snooty boutique owner!

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that retirement has sparked an exciting creative streak in me. I am discovering all sorts of creative outlets; although jewelry making is my real passion. My latest endeavor involves creating cyanotype prints on fabric and then making the prints into pillows. (See photos above.) I ordered the silk velvet fabric (treated with a chemical emulsion necessary to create the photographic reaction in sunlight) after being inspired by a similar project in a magazine. (Thank you Martha!)

My first attempts are not bad, if I do say so myself. After cutting the fabric to my desired sizes, I placed ferns, leaves, flowers, etc. on the fabric, anchored it on a piece of foam core with a piece of non-UV treated glass on top and put it out in the bright sunlight for about 10-15 minutes. Then I rinsed the fabric and voila! A beautiful shadow print appeared. The Prussian Blue color is lovely and can be made darker or paler, depending on the exposure. I backed the pillows with a soft camel colored micro fiber suede and used camel colored cord or fringe around the outside.

This project was so much fun and so rewarding that I have ordered two more yards of fabric (more silk velvet and raw silk), as well as the chemicals so that I can treat my own fabric. The fabric and chemicals can be purchased at blueprintsonfabric.com, where you will also find complete instructions and tips.

That's it for the current outpouring of my creative juices.

Until next time.

Bette