A Mystery

Does ANYONE have any idea what this is?

I am stumped.

If I had a necklace made out of tiny suns...

"If I had a necklace made out of tiny suns, I’d only wear it at night when you could really see it. Sadly, I don’t have a necklace like that. The closest thing I have is a necklace made out of those glow in the dark stars you stick to bedroom ceilings. But I only wear that on special occasions, like bedtime."

~Jarod Kintz

Randolph Street Market Finds

This past weekend was the last full Randolph Street Market of the season, and I found some fantastic pieces!

I was able to pick up several fantastic pairs of cufflinks, from some watermelon rivolis to a set of silver toned beer steins, to  fantastic set featuring men in armor sword fighting!  I also found a gorgeous demi parur featureing topaz toned rhinestones and some amazing molded glass leaves!  The mesh thing up in the upper right corner is about 5 feet long! It makes a fantastic mesh scarf that can be tied in many ways for many looks! (It has to be my favorite find!)  There's also some amazing brooches and bracelets. Ooooh, and in the upper left corner is a bee brooch with a genuine piece of amber!

I've been on a buying spree lately, but my listing hasn't been at the same speed.  I'm hoping that within the next few weeks I'll get more things listed in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.

In the meantime, enjoy looking at my finds and let me know if anything appeals to you!

Sold!

It's been a while since I've posted some of the items that have sold recently from my shop.  I don't know if anyone else really likes seeing this, but I think it's kind of fun to see stuff that other people buy!  I have had quite a few sales recently, so I think I'm going to limit today's post to sales for August thus far.

The pictures are linked to the transaction page so you can see additional details if you are curious.  There are more gorgeous items available for purchase in my Etsy shop! (Click Here!)

August 2:

Vintage Rhinestone Swirl Brooch

Lovely brooch features a large central rhinestone with 6 slightly smaller rhinestones surrounding it, then swirling "arms" of rhinestones radiating out. A total of 37 rhinestones forms this lovely piece.

August 3:

DESTASH - Vintage Earring Lot

Destash lot contains 8 pairs of earrings. Some screw back, most are clip earrings. 3 pairs are signed: Coro, Hobe, and Charel.

August 5:

Vintage Huge Domed Rhinestone Earrings

Stunning rhinestone earrings each feature 38 rhinestones. Baguettes, navettes and chatons are are arranged in a domed kite shape for added affect and to capture as much light as possible! Re-inforced in the back with a metal rod, these earrings are statement pieces!

August 10:

Vintage Olive Green Multi Stranded Extra Long Necklace

8 strands of olive green faceted plastic beads fill out this gorgeous vintage necklace from the 1960s. Extra long length means you can double it or even triple loop it if you want. Texturized gold toned caps finish off the strands at the clasp.

DESTASH - Lot of Vintage Brooches 

Destash lot contains 16 brooches. Most are vintage, some could be newer. Most of the brooches are still wearable, however there are some with damage, i.e. missing stones, verdesgris, finish loss, missing pin shafts. Three brooches are signed: Hobe, Giovanni, Made in Austria.

August 11:

Vintage Spiked Gold Ball Necklace and Earring Set - Designer Signed - Trifari - Double Stranded

Fun and funky double stranded necklace and drop earrings feature spikey texturized gold balls and shiney gold beads. Even the clasp is spikey! Designer signed, these are definitely attention getters! Clip on earrings also feature two sizes of spikey gold balls and a smooth gold bead.

Vintage Molded Glass AB Cufflinks and Tie Tac Set - Designer Signed - Swank

Unique cufflink and tie-tac set is reminiscent of chips of ice or little icebergs. Molded class stones are shaped like chunks of ice and shimmer with multiple shades of blues. Even the silver toned settings look like ice with their craggy texturized surface!

August 12:

Vintage Sterling Silver Siamese Bracelet and Earrings

Gorgeous Vintage Bracelet and Earring set features traditional Siamese Niello Enamelling and Silver work. The bracelet features panels held together with rings. Each octagonal panel features one of three different images:

1 - Mekkala(h), the Goddess of Lightning - shown with lightning bolts coming from her hand. A well known figure in Thai culture.

2 -Dancing Angel - depicted with a long curved garland (looks like rope) held behind the back. Were warriors who were magically turned into angels (Ramayana).

3 -Nang Fa, the Fairy of Happiness - looks like she is dropping stardust from her hand to the floor.

The bracelet is just under 7 inches long and is signed STERLING MADE IN SIAM .925.

The earrings are screw back and each feature an image of a traditional Siamese dancer. They are also signed SIAM STERLING. They have a traditional Siamese paisely shape.

Vintage Black Rhinestone Necklace and Earring Set - 1960s or 1970s

Elegant and simple necklace and clip on earring set features jet black rhinestones set into gold toned settings. The necklace has a single large open backed, unfoiled navette rhinestone on a chain of chatons. The earrings feature an open backed, unfoiled navette hanging from a chain of five chatons.

Frosted Glass Rhinestone Necklace - For UpCycle or Repair

Fun and flirty necklace features large frosted glass and aurora borealis rhnestones on a silver figure 8 chain. Hook and ball closure. Silver toned settings. I marked it for UpCycle or Repair because some of a condition issue.

August 13:

Vintage Coro Topaz & Amber leaf Necklace - Designer Signed - 1960s Mad Men Style

Lovely necklace features texturized gold leaves, faux pearls, topaz rhinestones and amber colored rhinestones. This necklace is perfect for adding a classic 60's touch to your outfit without being too costume-y.

August 14:

Vintage Rhinestone Choker Accented with Pear Shape Rhinestones

Stunning choker features 11 large pear shaped rhienstones sandwiched between two strands of rhinestones. Between each pear shaped stone are an additional 2 rhinestones. Hook fastened.

Emerald and Peridot Rhinestone Demi Parure - Brooch and Bracelet set - Vintage 1950s or 1960s

Sumptuous set features large 3/4 inch by 1/2 inch emerald green cushion cut rhinestones accented with tiny peridot chatons. All prong set into gold toned settings, these pieces are an elegant addition to your collection.

The brooch features 9 large emerald green cushions, 4 more smaller cushions (3/8 inch by 1/4 inch), and 32 peridot toned chatons arranged into a diamond shape.

The bracelet features 7 large cushions and four rows of 25 peridot stones. (That's 107 total rhinestones!)

A Broken Strand of Pearls

When I was 11 years old, I was cast as the star of my school's play "Really Rosie."  Me, a 5th grader in a K-8 school! I was "Rosie!"  I was the star!  Everyone would be looking at me and I would get to boss around the other characters!

If you're not familiar with the play (and cartoon), it was written by Maurice Sendak and Carole King and features the adventures of an imaginative girl living "in a simple, humble, neighborhood."  I think I got the part because I was the only girl who tried out who sang loudly and without shame.  To be honest, I've also always been a bit on the dramatic side.

Anyway, Rosie is obviously dressed in her mother's clothes with an oversized red satin dress, boa, large hat and really big shoes.  As part of my costume, my grandmother loaned me her opera length strand of pearls to wear... as long as I was "really careful, because they were VERY OLD!"

I remember being so excited the night of the performance. I was wearing a gorgeously slinky red satin dress, I had my grandmother's pearls, a great big hat, and I WAS THE STAR! The performance went so well, that two people...TWO... brought me flowers after the show was over. Forget the fact that one was my dad, and the other was the principal of the school.  I had on fabulous make up, everyone applauded me, and I didn't make any mistakes!  I even got a standing ovation! (I am painfully ignoring the fact that the Kindergarten group that sang the "ABC" song got a longer standing ovation, but that doesn't matter.)

After the ovations, and bows and signing programs for my grandmother and family, (Gosh, I was as good as a movie star, everyone wanted my autograph!) I went back to the music classroom to change out of my costume in my own private Star's Dressing Room! (Again, ignore the fact that it was a tiny bathroom in the music room so the Kindergarten kids wouldn't have to walk the halls on their own.) High on the adrenaline that comes off a stellar performance, I started changing quickly because my parents had promised to take me out for ice-cream in celebration.

Imagine my absolute horror when my grandmother's VERY OLD opera length strand of pearls disintegrated in my hands! The tiny pearls sounded like rain drops as they hit the floor, rolling everywhere, and some even landed IN THE TOILET! I burst into tears and wouldn't come out of the bathroom.  I had broken my grandmother's very old, very special strand of pearls that she had loaned me to wear in the play. My night had just gone from fantastic to the absolute-worst-day-in-my-life!!!



Photo by Sugar Rush Creations on Flickr Used under Creative Commons License

My mother came to find me because I had taken so very long changing, and found me curled up on the floor of the bathroom in tears, half dressed and with my stage make-up smeared on my face.  She didn't yell like I had expected she would. She helped me find as many of the pearls that had scattered as we could, and the Music teacher (a.k.a. the Director of the Play) found a little baggie we could put the pitiful remains in. Neither one of us was willing to reach into the toilet to find the pearls that had landed there. Mom also made me wash my face and helped me to get dressed again.

As we walked back out to the parking lot where my father, brothers and grandmother were waiting, I started to feel that heavy despair hit me again.  I stammered out, between sobs, what had happened to my grandmother's VERY OLD and very important strand of pearls.  She gave me a hug and told me that they had broken before, and she had replaced the string with Dental Floss, so she had been expecting them to break again in the future so I shouldn't worry!

Dental Floss!

Looking back, I'd bet you dollar to donuts that those "pearls" were plastic, but my poor 11 year old brain was absolutely certain that I'd been wearing a fortune around my neck.

What about you? Have you ever had a traumatic experience such as mine?

What's in Style Right Now? "Vintage Look"

All right, I admit it. Its my dirty secret. I susbscribe to O magazine.

There.  It's out.  Don't judge me.

You're judging me, aren't you?

Anyway, Oprah.com featured this necklace by Lia Sophia as one of its "Great Buys of the Week" last week. 



Necklace by LiaSophia.com Photo from Oprah.com

Here's what they had to say about it. "Love the cameo look but afraid that broaches are too fusty? The central pendant on this necklace is traditional, but it's updated by four whimsical others, plus it's hung on a sleek silver chain."

Oh, and it's $98. 

Why not take your own vintage brooches and make a necklace similar for less money?  There's a neat trick I picked upon pinterest that uses straws! I know, straws!

The original link from pinterest goes back to http://www.tigercatjewelrystore.com/tip&tricks.shtml. They show you how to use a commercial jewelry converter, and how to use a straw. 

String your brooches onto a chain, or link a few together, and you've made something similar.

Or better yet, if you aren't handy / crafty and you want to support small businesses, go to Etsy and do a search for "vintage brooch necklace."  You'll come up with some gorgeous one-of-a-kind necklaces that are just as stylish as the one Oprah featured!

For example:

Vinchique = $48

FishersBeeHive = $35

FiorellaJewelry = $82

BrassBoheme = $65

In my opinion, all of these necklaces are more charming and have more personality than the factory made piece we started out looking at. 

What's in style right now? Vintage...upcycled!