My new favorite combination of techniques.. Emboss, Patina & Dap circle altered blanks to create beautiful earrings, pendants, rings, and connectors. In this month’s tutorial I was inspired by our Vintage Meadow theme, and created a pair of earrings featuring our new gorgeous Cherry Blossoms DecoEmboss Die, and our popular Verdigris & Onyx Patina and Glaze. But that’s not it… the blanks were then formed using the Vintaj Wood Dapping Block!
Suspend beautiful Acrylic Floral Art Beads by Vintage Meadow Artworks from dapped blank connectors to create a stunning pair of earrings. Vintage Meadow Artworks will be sharing a booth with Bead Haven at the Bead&Button show, June 7-10th at booth # 843 & 845. Be sure to stop by for Heather French’s beautiful Acrylic Floral Art Beads – tell her Vintaj sent you!
View this month’s Step-by-Step Tutorial – Dapped Blank Connectors to learn how to Patina & Dap embossed blanks – featuring the same technique to create a concave impression on our Bird Garden Cameo, as seen in the Bird Fountain Ring!
Stay tuned throughout the month for “Vintage Meadow” project inspiration, a chance to win our blog giveaway, featuring a ton of Acrylic Floral Art Beads from our Art Bead Partner, Heather French of Vintage Meadow Artworks. That’s not it… Submit your interpretation of Vintage Meadow, for a chance to win our Design Challenge – prize contains over 75 Vintaj pieces inspired by this months theme!
Share our Design Challenge with your customers!
Join in on the fun ~ Get involved on your website, blog or social media pages. Create an inspiring bead mix or kits incorporating Vintaj and share your interpretation of “Vintage Meadow”.
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Share our challenge on your blog, website & facebook page!
Take your interpretation of “Vintage Meadow” and create an inspiring piece using Vintaj Natural Brass, Arte Metal and/or Artisan Copper! Submissions are due by NOON (CST) Friday, June 1. Voting will be open from June 4 – midnight June 8, with the Challenge Winner & Editor’s Pick posted on Monday, June 11.
Beautiful Spring weather and (for a lot of us) shedding the winter wardrobe has us thinking of fun designs to show off in the warmer temps! This issue of Bead Trends is sure to inspire and as usual they give you resources and instructions to make what you see!
Click through our gallery below to see how designers used Vintaj in their featured designs. We were thrilled to see a couple with DecoEmbossed Altered Blanks!
Congratulations to Cindy Cima Edwards, our blog readers voted her bracelet our winner for our Storybook Design Challenge! Here is what Cindy wrote about her entry:
“Once Upon A TimeI wanted this bracelet to have a magical feel. I wanted it to be colorful but no contrasting colors and wanted the brass to shine through giving the vintage feel that Vintaj products do so well. The fairy dust vial is filled with Ranger stickles, uh… I mean fairy dust! The round charms are altered blanks that have been painted with Vintaj patinas, dapped, then filled with ice resin. The backs of the altered blank charms have been painted as well.”
Cindy wins our newest prize of over 75 pieces of Vintaj metals and she’ll be entered in our End Of The Year Challenge! To see more of her work visit her Etsy shop – Zimaj!
Our Editor’s Pick for this Storybook Challenge is #6, Amelia Davenport!
Her unique headdress caught our eye! Here is what Amelia had to say about her entry:
“Never Stop BelievingWhen I saw the challenge for May the first thing that I thought about was my daughter. She is truly my princess. I can’t help but to fall in love with her more and more everyday. All it takes is for her to look at me with her bluest of blue eyes. Skin that looks and feels like silk. One day her prince will ride in on his magic carpet. He’ll get down on one knee take her bye the hand. Slowly slides the ring that was handed down from her great grandmother. Her fairytale will come true. Because she’ll Never Stop Believing…”
To see more of Amelia’s work visit her Etsy shop – ASExpressions!
Submissions for our Vintage Meadow Design Challenge are due Friday, June 1!
Our Storybook Art Bead Partner, Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati has the coolest Challenge & Giveaway going on at her blog. GO THERE NOW to participate for a chance to win a 3-month subscription to her Simple Truths Sampler Club (June-August 2012) – this is such an amazing prize, don’t miss the chance to win!
Erin has posted the start to a story, and wants her readers to add to it.
I stopped by last night and read the creative contributions so far – it’s brilliant!
Keep the story going and Erin will try to wrap it up with a happy ending! Can’t wait to keep reading
Erin and I, in September 2011 after the Vintaj 2 Day Workshop!
We can pass as sisters, right! We’ve become great friends over the years, just wish we lived a little closer.
Now hop on over to Erin’s BLOG and join all the fun in contributing to “the story”.
She will keep comments open through Saturday, May 11th – Good luck!
I love creating and wearing bracelets! These two cool metal cuffs were designed by Wendy and Logan, creating textures and layers over our Wide Blank Connector. Both bracelets feature unexpected clasps & closures using Vintaj components and found objects in unique ways…
Wendy Mullane created cool layers by embossing a Circle altered blank with our Steampunk Parts DecoEmboss Die and then hammering it flat for an even more distressed look.The blank and an arte metal Compass Decorivet has been colored with our Rusted Hardware Patina Kit to give it an aged look. Wendy simply bent over the rivet points on the compass and wrapped them around the circle blank. She added holes in the circle blank and wide blank connector and riveted the components together to complete the cuff. Another fun use of decorivets is creating connectors by forming loops with the rivet points and attaching to your focal and completing with jump rings and chain.
I love this unexpected hook clasp! Wendy added an fine imprinted pattern to a Tag altered blank with our Mermaid Waves DecoEtch Die. The loop was cut off the tag blank with our easy to use NEW Metal Shears (they cut like butter), and any rough edges smoothed out with our NEW Metal File. She added two holes to an end of the etched tag blank with our 1.5mm Hole Punch Pliers and created the curved hook shape with Filigree Shaping Pliers. This handcrafted hook clasp is paired with a 15mm Jump Ring to complete the bracelet closure. It’s that easy!
Logan Flack designed this awesome metal cuff with steampunk flair! Also using the Wide Blank Connector as base for the textured and layered cuff. He etched a Tall Tag altered blank with our Mermaid Waves DecoEtch Die and embossed a Gear altered blank with our Distressed Textures DecoEmboss Die. The Tall Tag blank was simple wrapped around the cuff through the openings (perfect fit), and the Gear blank was layered with old watch parts and riveted to the cuff.
This cool clasp set was made by drilling additional holes in a Etched Creative Bar to connect it to one end of the cuff. The pre-drilled center hole was used to attach a small length of chain to connect an old key (with a hole punched to the center) to function as the toggle bar. The opposite end of the cuff was created by attaching our Decorative Hanger in order to string 4 strands of vintage silver chain links and to house the opposite end of the clasp. Logan paired the old key with our beautiful Eternity Garden Ring to complete this fun bracelet closure.
TIP when making your own Toggle Clasp sets:
Always test to make sure that the bar is the correct size to pair with your desired ring. To do this, simply place the center of the bar (which in this case is the key), along side the edge of the toggle ring. If the bar is too short and easily slips through the opening of the ring you will need to find a longer piece to function as the toggle bar. The bar should rest over the ring when the center meets the edge – this way you know it is the perfect match. You should also add a small length of chain on the bar end of the clasp for an easy fit through the ring or small beads, large components can make it very difficult to open and close your clasp, especially on a bracelet.
What are your favorite creative clasp combinations?
Do you make your own, or use Vintaj components in unexpected ways to make unique closures?
Share your ideas with us!
We hope these submissions to our Design Challenge inspire you to try a Storybook-themed design using Vintaj! Click thumbnails to enlarge. Inspiration is listed below enlarged photo of their piece – just click on the thumbnails, you may need to scroll down a little.
Vote for your favorite by selecting your favorite ‘number’ on the poll listed above and clicking VOTE in the lower right corner! If you do not vote through the polling system your vote will not be counted. Voting ends midnight (central time) May 11, and the challenge winner will receive a collection of over 75 pieces of Vintaj products, a posting on our blog with a link to their site/blog, and will be entered into the End of the Year Challenge contest!
We will post the winning design on Monday May 14 by noon (central time) so be sure to check back. Our Editor’s Pick will be announced the same day.
Congratulations to Janet Brown of The Studio A La Mode, she is the winner of our “Storybook” Tesori Trovati & Vintaj Giveaway! She wins this collection of polymer clay pendants handmade by Erin Prais-Hintz & a fun variety of Vintaj Natural Brass altered blanks, charms, pendants & embellishments!
Janet’s story ~
“I remember seeing Vintaj in Stringing Magazine after I first started making jewelry. My first pieces using Vintaj were so unique – unlike anything other “beaders” were doing around here – that they were quickly accepted into a local boutique and high-end beauty shop. I live in a small town, and it was so rewarding to see people wearing my pieces, and hearing them gush about how unique my jewelry is. Vintaj’s tag “inspiration in every finding” couldn’t have been more true for me. Still, to this day, my heart skips a beat when I pull in the drive way and see that my Vintaj order has arrived. Since getting started in 2005, I don’t think I have made a repeat of a design, except upon special request — and THAT’s a testament how versatile Vintaj components are. I can remember once before I was well established, a lady purchased a unique charm bracelet made solely of hand-made charms using Vintaj beadcaps and she was frantic after catching it in the trunk of her car. She called friend after friend trying to track me down and by the time we made connections she was in tears because she thought she had ruined her one-of-a-kind bracelet. That’s when I knew Vintaj allowed me to make truly unique and treasured pieces. Vintaj is the staple of my jewelry design studio, and while I experiment with sterling silver occasionally, the wall of Vintaj filled cupcake tins is the primary source of inspiration and where I go when I need to “get away for a while!”
Thank you to all who participated and shared your Vintaj story with us. We truly enjoyed reading your experiences and have been touched and inspired by you all!
Erin is an old friend of the Girls at Vintaj and we were thrilled to see her new line of Simple Truths pendants! Several of her pieces have words or sayings stamped into the clay and we thought they would be perfect for our Storybook theme. We were inspired by designs with meaning and sentiment for this theme and Erin’s pendants fit the bill!
We wanted to know more about Erin Prais-Hintz and Tesori Trovati. We’ve learned so much from this interview, she even shared a video tour of her studio in Wisconsin!
How long have you been designing (selling) beads?
In the fall of 2010 I set a goal for myself of creating a line of jewelry components that I could use myself as well as sell to others. I came up with a plan to use positive messages in them after reading a book by Patti Digh called “Four Word Self Help.” I decided to do a test market at a few fall and holiday shows with different materials to see what would work. I made the prototypes in resin filled bezels, stamped on copper tags and etched. None of them seemed quite right. Then right before Christmas, Heather Powers wrote a tutorial to use bezel settings and polymer clay to make last minute Christmas gifts. I immediately ran out to buy a brick of clay. I happily created for a few days and brought them into work where all the ladies wanted to buy them. That day I got my first order: to create two custom memorial necklaces honoring a young girl who died that same weekend in a tragic car accident on her way home from college. A year an a half later I hear that the mother and daughter who received them wear them almost daily. That gives me chills and it let me know that I was on the right path with this endeavor, that the message was indeed a simple truth.
I made some of the pieces I now called ‘simple truths’ into necklaces for my sisters-in-law for Christmas and liked one so much that I sent a similar one into Stringing which got accepted into the Fall 2011 issue. Little did I know that this would make the cover! Around the same time I decided to send a little care package to Danielle Fox (editor of Jewelry Stringing magazine) just to show her what I was doing. I had no idea that she would accept them into the Beads 2011 Buyer’s Guide issue that spring. Those two opportunities really got the ball rolling for the ‘simple truths’ line.
What is your background and how did you get started?
I have always dabbled in creative pursuits. I have made and sold embellished picture frames, silk flower wreaths, Christmas decorations and even did fresh wedding flowers for a time. But these were all just hobbies. In the mid-2000s I started playing with beads. I got more and more requests for my designs especially for donations to charity events. I thought that no one would bid on a pretty necklace made by a no-name like me, and that is where my first branding decisions came from. In 2006, I made it official. I registered myself with a company name (which is hideous and morphed into the more lovely Tesori Trovati today , bought business cards, decided on a logo and came up with packaging. When I started discovering art beads and the amazing products to set my designs apart, like Vintaj, that opened up so many doors of opportunity for me.
Where do you find inspiration for your lines and how often to you introduce new ones?
In the short 1 1/2 years that I have been making these ‘simple truths’ pendants, I have been inspired by so many things. Sometimes the image that I want to stamp comes first, like a holiday snowman or the castle, and the words or message come later. But a lot of time the words are what comes to me first. I find a snippet of poetry, a line of lyrics, even advertisements and popular culture are fair game for inspiration. I have notepads and stickie notes all over the place with words of wisdom. I am an avid collector of quotes. Anyone who reads my blog will tell you that I am a very wordy person, yet these ‘simple truths’ are by nature simple and distilled down to their true essence. I often take very long passages and boil them down to the most important nuggets. And I think that is what resonates with people. That and the fact that sometimes the message is hidden, or on the reverse side, close to your heart. Creating custom pendants is something so special to me. I always feel incredibly honored when someone puts their trust in me like that.
I am constantly making new pieces. At first I started making no two alike. But that gets really hard, really quick! Then I started releasing limited edition pieces. In June 2011 I started the ‘simple truths sampler’ club. Each month my club members receive a random limited edition ‘simple truth’ pendant. Participants can sign up for 3-, 6-, 9-, or 12- months, and there is a limit of 20 spots each month. I assure my members that I will never make the exact same thing again and they will not be available for sale. That keeps me creating something new each month. Which reminds me that I need to create something for May! Watch for some celebrations of this first year of the club in June.
Do you have a similar design process for each line?
I always start with a metal bezel setting. I have very ornate ones to very plain ones in a variety of finishes from shiny and antique silver to antique copper and brass and even gunmetal tones. I usually set about prepping a whole tray of the settings with the clay since it won’t harden until I bake it. Then I decide what the image and message is and start stamping those. After they are baked, I apply many layers of color to get to the signature look. I finish with washes of more color to add depth and bring out highlights and then finish with a light layer of Renaissance Wax to seal it. It is an involved process but I think it is what gives them character and handcrafted goodness.
One of the first pieces I made as an owl. That first owlet grew into the Woodsy Owl with no two alike. Recently I added the Motley Owl, the more foolish and gregarious brother of Woodsy. They are brightly colored with crazy feather patterns. I enjoy making both these little owls so much because no two are exactly alike. Everyone who orders one will be in for a surprise! Currently I am working on some ideas using my own designs carved into stamps and it would be a dream of mine to offer limited edition selections with handmade bezels that I would make with my almost mad skillz in soldering and my soon-to-be learned skills in enameling and patina-ing!
What kind of space do you design & create in?
I have a wonderful studio in the basement of my home. It is a space that is overstuffed with things to create with and things that I just can’t seem to part with. Would you like to see a video tour? Check it out! Youtube Studio Tour with Erin
How often do you get to design jewelry?
I design jewelry just about every day! I sell my jewelry in several art galleries in Wisconsin (that is a goal of mine, to find more gallery spaces) and that is mainly how people know me. I started out designing jewelry with other people’s art beads because they were little treasures, mini-masterpieces just waiting their turn to blossom into something truly magical. I still find it hard to believe that I am now an art bead maker as well. What is really exciting is to see what becomes of my humble little ‘simple truths’, especially when they surprise me on the pages of a magazine!
What are your favorite Vintaj products to use with your beads?
I do love the simple things like etched jump rings, chain, all the fun clasps (especially the swirl clasp and the big hook) and the big rounded ear wires. But I also love to wrap stones in filigree (even if I am not that good at it despite Jess trying to teach me!). I enjoy using my Vintaj Big Kick to emboss the altered blanks with fun designs and textures. I haven’t tried the new patinas but I love that idea. The new arte metal and especially the artisan copper are so gorgeous to me. I find it essential to mix metals in nearly every design that I make, and so I love these products. Especially the leaves. And bead caps. I am a nut about bead caps of all shapes and sizes! One is never enough – they must be layered!
Is there anything you can add about our theme, “Storybook”…how your beads and Vintaj work together?
I am so very excited that Vintaj invited me to be their partner this month. My background is Secondary Education/English. When I was a teacher, I taught a fairy tale and storytelling unit to my 7th graders in English and Literature, so this couldn’t be a more perfect partnership! I believe that we all have a story to tell and that we tell it best when we are allowed the chance to express ourselves in the way that only we can do. That is what my ‘simple truths’ are all about…. letting the modern wisdom of these humble little pendants be your guide as you write the next chapter of your creative life.
Thank you for sharing with us Erin, what a great way to get to know you better! Scroll to our post from May 1 to enter our Storybook giveaway with Simple Truths pendants from Tesori Trovati and Vintaj metals!
Also get your submissions to our Storybook Design Challenge to challenge@vintaj.com by Friday at noon!
, bought business cards, decided on a logo and came up with packaging. When I started discovering art beads and the amazing products to set my designs apart, like Vintaj, that opened up so many doors of opportunity for me.
