Art Deco Inspired Wedding Jewelry

First off, allow me to apologize for what seems to be the abandonment of my blog!  I've been seriously slacking with my posting this summer.  I vow to change this.  Secondly, my apologizes for this photo heavy post.  Hopefully it will be worth it.

The following set of jewelry was created for a June wedding that took place on a farm in rural Pennsylvania.  The bride desired a romantic, vintage aesthetic but for the most part gave me full artistic reign (thanks Katie!).  The color palette of sapphire and lime green was chosen by the bride to reflect her bridal party colors.  I chose to work in brass to quietly emphasize the vintage aesthetic and designed the necklaces as multi-strand pieces to stand out against her bridesmaids' simple, sleeveless sapphire blue dresses.  

An homage to my camera phone.

Ree Drummond is focusing on photos taken with a mobile phone for this week's Pioneer Woman Photography Assignment.  I was excited to read this yesterday as I have a bit of an obsession with my phone's camera and the many photography apps available on the market.  In fact, I currently have 913 photos on my phone.  Oh my!  I think it's time to do some house cleaning! 

Anyway, as I was sorting through my photos for an image to submit to today's pool, I thought it might be fun to highlight a few of my favorite iphone photos here.  Some you may have already seen, but others you have not.  I love all of them and especially adore the feeling of shooting a photo, running it through an app such as Instagram or ShakeItPhoto, and viewing the new image.  This usually concludes with me getting all giddy-like and shoving the phone in front of Dan's face to show him how amazing the image turned out.  Well, amazing in my opinion anyways.  :)

A more recent shot, taken below the Spring Garden El stop in Philadelphia.  It was captured while waiting for a very late bus (again).  And though I have a great aversion to Philly's public transit system, and remember that I was very annoyed when I shot this, something about this photo (and I think it's that soft burst of light at center) calms me in the smallest of ways. 

Oh, Friday

It's Friday and it's been a veeeerry trying morning.  All I can say is: Thank goodness it is Friday.  Mornings like this require a quick peek at this photo to immediately restore the smile to my face and make me all fuzzy inside.

It was taken on Heidi's first Valentine's Day with us.  She celebrated with a cookie from Doggie Style in Manayunk.  Actually, she celebrated with two, but we reserved the second for later in the week.  It's difficult to see in the dark photo, but she is literally licking her chops waiting for that cookie.  

I hope your morning has gone smoother than mine, dear readers- and if not, I hope this photo helped in the smallest of ways by bringing a smile to your face as well.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Golden Rutilated Quartz Earrings

Here are a few photos of the earrings I posted yesterday.  

The earrings are composed of faceted, golden rutilated quartz and labradorite rondelles- two stones that I am obsessed with at the moment.  They are suspended from hammered brass rings, a component that I've been incorporating into my most recent designs.  The red brass really helps to pull out the golden veins within the quartz that make them so, so appealing.  They turned out just lovely and I plan to make more in other stones and metals.  This pair was made for a friend's birthday, but I think they would make wonderful bridal or bridesmaid accessories.

As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to wait until I edited the photos before I posted them to the blog.  I used a free trial version of Aperture 3 that I downloaded this morning, and was quite happy with the results.  I've been searching for a photo editing program for our new computer for quite sometime now, and I've been curious about Aperture.  I'd love to purchase Photoshop, but can't quite afford that right now.  So far, it seems that Aperture might do just what I need it to do. Have any of your had any experience with this program?  If so, I'd love to hear you thoughts and/or suggestions!

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A Productive Saturday

I'm delighted to write that after an incredibly hectic few months, filled with trips to Pittsburgh, Princeton and the Outer Banks, plus a bridal shower and a beautiful wedding, barbecues and weekend outings with friends, I finally found a day to do nothing but make jewelry and relax with Heidi.  It feels wonderful!

My most recent muses are these stones and brass beads that I picked up at the bead store last night.  I literally ran in for 15 minutes for a few headpins and I came out with the most beautiful strand of faceted (agate, I believe) stones.  I just could not resist their beauty and bought them right on the spot.  

I constructed these necklaces with the gorgeous stones that my sister gave me for Christmas.  They are simple, yet lovely, and are strung on a vintage brass chain.

And here is a photo of another pair of earrings I've been meaning to share with you.  Gold rutilated quartz briolettes are wrapped in gold-filled wire and suspended beneath a hammered brass ring and a cluster of labradorite stones.  I have better photos to share with you, but they need edited first.  For now, the good ol'iPhone photos will have to do.

No matter what you are doing this weekend, I hope you are all enjoying yourselves.  

Spicy Coleslaw with Cumin-Lime Dressing

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend.  Dan and I certainly had an eventful one spent with great friends.  We hosted our second official barbecue of the season, an annual tradition that immediately follows the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship.  Every year, we get together with a few of our friends, pack up our bikes and head to Lemon Hill where we spread ourselves out on the grass and eat sandwiches, cheese, and drink wine while basking in the sun and watching an always exciting cycling race.  It's one of the best days of the year.

On Saturday we had some major prepping to do and procured an abundance of fruits and vegetables from the market in the morning.  There were so many, in fact, that I had to empty my bags outside, on the patio table, to sort through everything.  

On the menu: Bangkok BBQ Chicken, rustic Panzanella, spicy Coleslaw with Cumin-Lime Dressing, grilled corn, curried potatoes and Summer-Fruit Angel-food Cake with Mascarpone.  Everything was delicious.

Ginger Sewalong

I hereby announce my participation in the Ginger Sewalong.

Earlier this week, while skimming through a few of my favorite blogs, I saw that Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch is hosting a sewalong for the new Ginger Skirt by Colette Patterns.  I was a fan of the Ginger skirt ever since I saw it, but it wasn't until I saw Sunni's blue floral version that I was completely sold.  

A Fashionable Stich

A Fashionable Stich

I know it was the piping and buttons that did it for me.  According to Sunni, the pattern booklet, which is geared toward beginners (whew!), includes helpful hints such as adding piping and pockets.  I've been wanting to participate in a sewalong for quite sometime now, and this one seems to be the perfect fit for me.  It's geared to the beginner sewist, such as myself, and seems quick enough to sew up, so I can finish it in a short amount of time, if needed.

I immediately hopped on over to the Colette Patterns site and purchased my own pattern.  It arrived yesterday and I can't wait to get started.  All I need to do now is figure out what fabric to use.  Oh, the choices!  If you are interested in participating in a sewalong, I suggest you look into Sunni's Ginger Sewalong.  I'll keep you all posted as I make my way through the pattern!