Featured!

I've been featured in a few treasuries lately! Check it out!

My 'Winter' bracelet was featured in the United Breaks Guitars treasury by KeenasKreations You can check out her blog here!

The 'Like Tears in Rain' pendant was featured in this lovely treasury called I Love the Rain by JuliesLittleBits! Check out her shop - I really love her bead mixes. :) She has a blog, too!

Finally, my Blood Countess earrings snagged a spot in the Re-Vamped treasury by BabyShowerSupplies.

Summertime, and the beading is easy...

What is it about summer that makes me revert straight to the earthy materials and hippy stuff? Wood beads, crazy colors, stone, shell and bone...I'm so there. I even bought myself a patchouli plant at the greenhouse this year.

The obnoxious stone skull beads are going to be cropping up all over the place for a while. My friends went to a gem show and came home with 3 freakin' strands of 'em for me. Now, I love skulls...I do...but it takes me so long to get through an entire strand of [almost] anything!

So, happy Summer, y'all. Enjoy the sweltering weather and the hippy smell at whatever craft show you wander through next. :)


Featured: Peace bracelet, La Rose en Mort bracelet and Terra bracelet.

Friday Favorites!

Four new pieces to share! Check out Lavender, Queen Bee, The Kiss and Meadow. 

I am in the process of listing everything I can dream up an identity for! It amazes me how every step in the Etsy listing process is a creative challenge. Even with a routine, it takes a while to dream up all of the details! It's a pain in the arse at times, but it's the perfect way to showcase the virtues of each unique piece of jewelry.

Enjoy!

In Bloom:

Poor blog, it never gets any love.

Oddly enough, Spring is the dormant season for Strung-Out. I'm working to switch that up some, but Other Work takes precedence as we dance into wedding season and the golden hours of awesome photography weather.

My apologies to all one of my readers. ;)

Featured: In Bloom earrings.

The box in the photo is one of my favorite props. It was ordered by my Grandmother sometime long ago from Florida, filled with all kinds of little seashells and findings to make earrings and such. Super cool! :)

Cabin Fever:

I've been bit by the bug. The OMG, get me the hell out of Winter before I lose my frackin' mind! bug. Luckily, there's work on the table, and my house has enough square footage that I can go for a wander and not feel trapped. I'm totally kicking this Winter thing square in the pants!

I've been a busy bee in the studio, churning out bracelets teeming with butterflies, bright colors, flowers, shell casings and the occasional skull. [What? Skulls and bullets are spring-esque, right?] This stuff will be meandering into my Etsy shop sometime soon, if it's not already there. Check it out! :)

The more I play with shell casings, the more I like it. My husband likes to play with guns, and I like to play with sparkly things. I've been pilfering his spent brass like a crazed magpie. The product of this unlikely marriage has been a lot of delicate jewelry.
As much as I'd love to meander into the hardcore aspect of using metals like bullets and guitar strings, I'm not over the thrill of taking something hard and making it appear soft. Everyone else is out there creating what's expected - zeroing in on the rock and roll and blowing off the hippy ballads.
Give peace a chance?

New Strings:

I admit it. I'm naughty. Not everything in my inventory is crafted from recycled strings. I buy a whole lot of my guitar strings in bulk from a fabulous store called Just Strings. They're pretty awesome, by the way. Shipping is fast, they accept my PayPal card AND their product catalog is insane. If you've got something with strings, they've got the strings you need.

The strings in the earrings, pendants and re-wound style stuff are recycled/donations. The majority of my bracelets are made with new strings I've purchased. Call it quality control if it makes me look better. ;)

I get a lot of donations of new strings, as well. When I got started with String-Out, I was gifted with a shoebox full of miscellaneous brand-new guitar strings. I owe that guy, big time!

I'm all excited because I'm expecting my latest string order sometime soon. I can't wait to get into my studio and make all kinds of new jewelry!

The piece featured above is my Snowfall Pendant. I built it on the ball-end of a string, instead of the base of the pendant being some large sparkly bit. Why didn't I think of that before? I dig it! :)

The Journey:

The holidays are a busy time for selling here at 758. It's also when I do a lot of supply hunting, cleaning, de-stashing and creating!

I try to only use the income from the Strung-Out project to perpetuate it. Sometimes I can't resist a certain sparkly thing - especially when I travel. I tend to map my route to include bead stores, arming myself with a map covered in stars when I set out on an adventure.

When I bring my loot home and incorporate it into the collection [sorted by color and type, because I'm an OCD nutcase,] the creative process ensues. How do I make this stuff? I open my mind and let every little thing inspire me. It can be a cheesy theme, the seasons, a smell or memory, a flower or critter...I let the colors and moods drive me to pick out the materials that I weave into bracelets.

When I'm playing in my studio, I get to remember the roads I went down to get the things I work with. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure to be able to reflect on the past, and keep it alive in my jewelry.

I create tons of bracelets because they're economical. They use a single guitar string. It saves some beads for another go-round if the concept sells out, or maybe a matching necklace. Bracelets are the one night stand of the jewelry box. They're fun. They might be crazy, but that's okay. They're a big statement without the commitment.

The featured item today is the Green Fairy earrings. The nifty mint/opal-ish focal beads came from a full strand of multicolored vintage German glass beads that are apparently quite rare and worth a bunch. I discovered them at The Bead Place in Belleville, IL when we were visiting family. Instead of being afraid to use them because of their "value," they've been making their way into my stuff all year long. I don't believe in hiding things away if they're valuable. It's art, and it should be enjoyed by everyone!