birds & shells

New at the shop....

Seashore

Little Bird

I've posted some great photos of the Art & Vintage Market over at Sweet Mojo's blog if you'd like to see some lovely art & displays!
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xox Jes

AND THE WINNERS ARE....

So this afternoon, I put all of the entries in a bowl (sorry no hat) and my partner in biz, Jolene, picked the names of each winner.

We just wanted you to know that we hope you all think you are winners! All of the pieces were beautiful and each necklace had it's own hidden meaning behind it.

We'd like to give those who didn't win one of the three prizes a little treat from Sweet Mojo. I'll be emailing you all soon to get your mailing addys!

so here goes!

The first name we picked was Amy Anderson! She won five free downloadable collage sheets of her choice from Piddix, one of my favorite collage resources.

And the next name was Paige Maxim! She won our Divine Sugar Scrub, Soothing Salt Soak & Hot Oil Hair Therapy from Sweet Mojo.

And last but not least.... we picked Sheila Correia, who won a necklace and signed copy of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine from little old me!
I really had a great time throwing this little party, and I so enjoyed seeing all of the fabulous entries! We'll have to do something like this again in the future ;)

WOW!

So I figured I have time to squeeze in one more entry for the contest...

Amy really went over the top with several different designs... I love them all, so I've got to show off each one! The way she dresses up each crystal is so unique & creative, no two are alike, and each tell a story!

Amy says:

"Since I recently purchased an old chandelier with gorgeous teardrop shaped crystals, I was instantly inspired by Jessica’s article in the most recent Belle Armoire Jewelry. I loved the idea of using dark, descriptive words from a vintage dictionary as the feeling for each piece, then embellishing with filigree, crystal, wire, and even solder! All of the pieces I made seem to have the feeling of dark, mysterious echoing pasts…

Gothic
I had something else in mind when I started this piece. I had a large filigree sandwiching the crystal. But, I ended up trying to force it to work, and the filigree broke in half. I thought that would be the end of that, but using half the filigree actually worked wonderfully! After adhering and sealing the dictionary definition of “Gothic” with gel medium, I detailed the edge with a gold leaf pen. I wire-wrapped the filigree with some lovely gray Czech glass beads and made a bail using 24-gauge twisted gunmetal wire. I think it turned out very organic with a lot of texture.

Gypsy
I wanted to “house” each crystal in something different each time, so this time I chose to wrap the crystal in decorative copper tape and soldered it! I then hand-patinated the solder to make it look very oxidated and antiqued. The butterfly filigree just worked so beautifully for this piece. I wire-wrapped tiny freshwater pearls and Czech glass beads to the wings and as the body. After a horrible attempt to make antennae (cheesy!) I ended up with a little bit of wire left over from making the bail and it ended up as a spiral at the top which balanced out nicely. Beaded gunmetal chain finishes this necklace.
Graven
A little bit different look for this one. The crystal for this pendant is cradled in an ornate brass filigree. Then I attached eye-catching red Swarovski crystals dangles to another brass filigree and used it to create a unique bail . I think it turned out really dark and creepy. And the red and black Czech glass beads I used for the necklace were just perfect."

I just want to give a big thanks to all who played along! I have a busy day away from this computer tomorrow, but will be sure to pick the names tomorrow night!!

GOOD LUCK!

xoxox

look how pretty!

Seriously... can you stand how cute this is??!!

Maine gal Paige who sells her jewelry at her Etsy shop sent this in for the contest. Her use of thrift store chains and vintage flower brooch paired with the pretty blue butterfly make me think of blue skies and summer.

love. love. love.

Paige writes:

"This piece is "Butterfly Wishes". I started by looking through some of my images I'd purchased previously from Vintage Image Madness, and then through Piddix's shop. The blue butterfly and Parisian ladies looking over the bridge seemed to go perfectly together, and my necklace began. I wanted to have a flower component as Jes does, and set out to search my box of vintage plastic, lucite, and metal flowers. The flowers seemed to stack themselves together as I looked through. I loved the way they looked matched with the images! I then set out to look for chain. I found some pieces of chain from various thrift store and clearance bin finds, and thought that I would go with the multi-chain, mixed metals look. "Butterfly Wishes" seemed to be a puzzle, waiting for me to put the pieces together."

THANKS Paige for being part of the contest :)

so cute!

Sorry gang, I've gotten a little behind this week!

So how pretty and springy are these precious little gems?

*SWOON*

Jennifer Desjardins sent these in as her entry for the contest. I love the use of vintage costume jewelry parts!

Jennifer says:

"I was quite inspired by Belle Armoire's latest jewelry issue! The first thing that caught my eye, other than the obvious droolable cover, was an article by Jessica Moreau-Berry, depicting how to create necklaces such as the ones you may be gazing at right now............It took a while to gather the supplies, I had to order some of them online. But once I received them, I was on my way. Aren't the birds adorable??

Finding the perfect pieces to go with the pendants was a lot of fun. For two of the necklaces it took me quite a bit of time to choose the findings, but not so for this black one. It just sort came together, without a second thought. On that note, I don't think this often, but the more I go through my stash of broken down, vintage and costume jewelry pieces and parts, the more I realize I need to get more!! More parts, more possibilities, right?"

You can swing by Jennifer's blog to read more and see more photos.



If you get a chance, swing by her Etsy shop and see her other work. I love her photography, and this is one of my faves!

I've got more entries to upload soon! Keep those photos coming gang!

HAPPY EASTER!

Hope everyone will do something extra special today!

Big Daddy and I are staying home & catching up on outdoor chores as it's going to be a GORGEOUS day today.

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AND NOW I'd like to share our first contest participant!

Lisa from Willow and Me

I have to tell you I feel so honored that the fabulously talented Lisa took the time to participate! I took a PMC class from her this past winter, and learned oodles of new things. Check out her Etsy shop when you get a moment. And if there are any family members out there wondering what to buy me for presents, well, by all means, buy me this GORGEOUS BRACELT from Lisa.... (hint-hint... does my husband still look at this blog I wonder?)

Here's what she wrote:

"I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do for your contest when I read the post. I had three small PMC links I had made that I really wasn't sure what to do with. I also had some slightly smaller Swarovski crystal flatbacks. They had foil backs, which I gently sanded off, and added pictures of flowers, butterflies and dragonflies. I didn't paint the backs afterwards because I liked the translucent look. I did the pendant over a couple of times and finally settled on what you see. I like the way the crystal magnifies the butterfly. Everything is put together with matching Swarovski crystals on sterling silver wire and a sterling silver chain."

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have a happy day gang!

she's having a contest!

This contest is being held for YOU special folks who are attempting my project in the Spring 2010 Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine. The article is called, "A Little Goes A Long Way" and it starts on page 6. Here's the skinny....

1. Pick up the Spring 2010 issue, and use the article as your muse. The only requirement is that you incorporate a decoupaged crystal into your design.
2. You can create any type of jewelry... necklace, earrings, bracelet, brooch, etc. Once you have finished your piece, take photos and write a short paragraph about your jewel. You can write a little about your technique, inspiration, or anything you feel like.
3. send 2-3 different photos of your creation, along with your paragraph, your blog or website info., you first, last name & state to berryandco87@hotmail.com If you don't have a blog or website.... that's OK too!
4. All entries must be sent to the above email by Friday, April 30th
5. This contest will be a drawing. All names will go into a hat and three names will be pulled out one by one.
6. By entering this contest you are giving me permission to show your jewelry photos and to publish your paragraph, name & state here on Junque Revival. You are also giving me permission to touch-up your photos as I see fit. I can't guarantee that I will be able to show off all of your entries, but I WILL MAKE BY BEST EFFORTS to get everyone on here!
7. I will draw the names on Monday, May 3rd and I'll post the winners here on this blog, and email the winners as well.

Would you like a chance to have your name entered into the drawing a second time? Just post about this contest on your blog or website, let me know you've done so and your name goes into the hat a second time!

NOW FOR THE PRIZES!

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The first name that will be drawn will win:
5 FREE COLLAGE SHEETS OF YOUR CHOICE FROM PIDDIX

http://www.piddix.etsy.com/ & http://www.instantcollagesheets.com/
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The second name that will be drawn will win:

A FABULOUS COLLECTION OF BATH & BODY PRODUCTS FROM MY NEW COMPANY, "SWEET MOJO APOTHECARY"
You'll get:

(1) 8 oz. jar of Divine Sugar Scrub
(1) 8 oz. jar of Soothing Salt Soak
(1) 1 oz. jar of Hot Oil Hair Therapy

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The third name that will be drawn will win:

A SIGNED COPY OF BELLE ARMOIRE JEWELRY MAGAZINE AND THIS NECKLACE FEATURED IN THE ARTICLE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your lovely designs!

xoxox ~Jes

how about a contest?

SO! I have to tell you that you girls who have written my email and here at the blog about my Belle Armoire Jewelry Spring 2010 article, "A Little Goes a Long Way" have inspired me to do something special!

I am thinking about having a contest. I am working out the details now.

So stay tuned.....keep creating....take some pretty photos, and I'll post about it soon!

And please don't hesitate to keep writing me with your questions. I want your lovely pieces to be something that you will cherish for years to come.

ALL WILL BE WELCOME! Just pick up the Spring issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry and go to page 6 and follow along!

Belle Armoire Jewelry Spring Issue

The new Belle Armoire Jewelry issue is here and chock full of Springy ideas that will tickle your inspiration bones!

This is a little peak at my article... it's all about our feathered friends, crystals and metal flowers.

I share my secret source for those vintage bird images, but you've got to pick up the magazine to find out where I get them from!

And to those who have written me about this article, thanks so much, and I hope I was able to answer your questions properly!! GOOD LUCK and PLEASE let me know how your little treasures come out!

xoxox

New in the shop.....

I've finally been able to get some time in the studio to work on jewelry and other bits of art. I was inspired to create this simple and elegant piece after reading the poem, "The Lady of Shallot" by Tennyson. I wanted to keep the simplicity of the sterling cross and chain that I recovered from an antique rosary, yet added a bit of drama with a handmade ruby glass choker.

THE LADY OF SHALLOT

The pieces from the winter issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry showed up on my door step last week! Though a couple were allready spoken for, there are a few left to be sold!

I hand cut the cuff and dragonfly from the copper scraps, then smoothed, sanded and hammered away at the copper. I added "DREAM" onto one of the wings and then finished the pieces with a gentle patina finish.I twisted up the beaded body with black glass beads and copper wire, then attatched the dragonfly to the cuff.

DREAMING DRAGONFLY

The best part of these pieces is that the wings can be gently bent up and down to give more or less the impression of flight.

Today ended up being a Sunday all to myself.... so guess where I'm headed?

BACK TO THE STUDIO!

*in Austin Powers voice* YEAH BABY!

sneak peek....

Just a little sneak peek at my newest article in Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine

I am loving the "Encaustic Art-to-Wear" article and pieces by Crystal Neubauer. I've had the pleasure of working with Crystal on a project for the book A Charming Exchange. I've always adored EVERYTHING she did, but these new pieces (and the story she tells) really speak to me. BRAVO CRYSTAL!

Another technique that I really enjoyed and figured it would be fun to try on the wings of my copper insects is from an article called "Day into Night" by Barbara Lewis. She puts a new spin on enameling, and she says, it's truly "painting with fire." If you happen to try this technique, give me a shout and let me know what you thought!

And one more mention...there is a 10 page article and interview on Richard Salley. The photographers of Belle Armoire captured his intricate and stunning designs beautifully. It's my dream to beable to take a class from him one day, and trust me, I will.....

(ANYONE GOING TO ART & SOUL IN VIRGINIA IN MAY??)

Belle Armoire Jewelry hits news stands Dec. 1rst.