Decorating Ideas with Vintage Jewelry

Just fun kind of post about what I've been doing with some vintage jewelry as home decor! Vintage jewelry can be found so many places...garage sales are probably the cheapest place, followed by thrift stores, flea markets and then antique shops. Also, online one Etsy and ebay!
The vintage rhinestone necklace stash above has come from several years of picking them up for a dollar or two, or tangled in one of the bags of junk jewelry I've purchased to make my assemblage jewelry out of.
My first idea was to use the vintage necklaces as curtain tie backs~

vintage rhinestone necklace tie back

vintage brooch, vintage multistrand curtain decor

 I use old  shabby pieces of lace held in place by vintage brooch to disguise an ugly lampshade, and an old multistrand vintage pearl necklace (bought for a song) to use to hold the curtain back from the window. I made a pendant lamp out of antique lace scraps as well. Here is the lace pendant lamp idea.
I love very shabbiest of things, and this old lace dress is a favorite that graces an old painted door that leads to the laundry room and storage area. Notice at the top of the hanger, I have put an old brooch. Very easy. Just close the brooch and slide the brooch over the end of the vintage hanger. This is a great way to display special jewelry that would otherwise be languishing unseen in a box somewhere. Behind the dress  is a holey old lace table cloth I added for more texture. I think when decorating with lots of shades of white, it is important to have layers and lots of texture.
The little felt and button heart pocket was a gift from my mother, and seems to go perfectly with this little vignette.

antique dress with vintage dry cleaner hanger and pearly brooch

for us, the shabbier, the better!

My husband and I both love super shabby things in shades of white mostly. We are slowly renovating our old home, but that doesn't mean that it can't be  enjoyed and decorated in fun ways in the meantime! I found a fun use for the pile of vintage necklaces, that I combined with the chandelier in my studio, which is already festooned with antique "Willow" children's tea set pieces and old chandelier crystals. The antique chandelier is from the early 1920's, and came with a gorgeous slag glass marble held in the center by long leaves of metal. I'm still considering painting it white eventually.

antique chandelier, tin Willow plates, rhinestone necklaces

assemblage chandelier with rhinestone necklaces and children's toys

The chandelier looks much better "in real life"...very sparkly! I don't have the best kind of camera...just a point and shoot type. As you can see, the ceiling is missing from the studio! I kind of like it, but I'm thinking it needs something else...maybe old doors or window frames? I'm thinking old linens and some tacks. I'm SO not wanting to do sheet-rock. Lord save me from sheet rock!

The butterfly mobile in the background came from a favorite Etsy shop called Royal Buffet. Mollie, the owner, has also written a wonderful book on paper craft which  I LOVE, (did I mention I am a paper hoarder?) 
Mollie's book is called ~ Make & Do: Paper Fascinations for Every Lovely Occasion.

antique mirror with paper garland and old brooch

 I often festoon mirrors and picture frames with broken brooches. The one above is a big rhinestone brooch that I glued on to a piece of filigree, then attached it tothe mirror with a tiny nail. The garland is something I made years ago for Christmas, but I like it so much I left it up. It says "Joyeux"...French word for "Joyous". I love the juxtaposition of sparkly things with shabby things.
I hope you like these ideas.. Please share them with friends. I'd love to hear your ideas as well!

Blessings to You and Yours,
Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake

Free Victorian Photo booth Style Photographs for You

I recently came across these amazing photo booth style Victorian photographs that I wanted to share with you today. They are scanned at very high resolution, so you can make larger copies of the individual photographs to use in artwork and such. Some talented people use these for quilts by printing them out on fabric sheets made for the printer. I just thought these were to nifty to keep all to myself. Click on the images to make them larger. To download them, just right click on the image and choose "save".

original Victorian photo booth typed photos

Victorian photo booth typed photos (that I Touched up a bit)

All I know about these is that they are a bit rare. Smiling Victorian Women or any smiling Victorian  people in general in photographs were quite a rarity, because they had to hold very very still in order to make a clear photo. It is hard to hold a steady smile, I imagine.
The vintage and antique Cabinet photographs are my favorites. I wouldn't call myself an avid collector, but my husband and I both find it very difficult to pass up great old photos. Especially in pretty frames. Our living room walls are decorated with groupings of old framed photographs from different eras, around a central favorite gorgeous oil painting by the very talented Cathi Isza on Etsy.

some of our collection, and cathi's lovely landscape (ignore the tv, will ya?)

 

I know what you might be thinking. Let's just say I'm not a huge fan of the large black TV and we are looking for a way to disguise it...any ideas? I was thinking old wood frame pieces, but then they get in the way of the infrared sensor. I think sooner than later we will put it in a cabinet. I'm not a fan of TV's that "show". Neither is mom, so my her husband, Greg, actually made their TV so it rises out of an old organ!  I was truly amazed. He took the guts out of it, and put in one of those tv risers. It looks fantasic. Then the cable box and dvd player are on the bench underneath. Nifty idea huh?
ANYWAY, back to the story!
I touched up the second set of photographs above in case you wanted them that way. I didn't spend a whole lot of time, so they aren't perfect, but a bit better than the first set!

cute art quilt by Mary using a free image from my stash!

Hope you enjoy them. One of my favorite shops on Etsy uses my free vintage photos in her artwork... I love to see that! Visit Mary at KMHandyKrafts to see more.

If you'd like to see more free downloads from my blog, like the bird and others, just click here.
ALSO, if you need even more images to inspire you, look no further than The Graphics Fairy! Be prepared to be delighted and inspired by her amazing blog packed with all kinds of amazing antique and vintage images, antique postcards, labels, advertisements and more. I used her images to create my blog banner! (which needs a bit of a change, me thinks.)

Hope you all have a happy week! If you do happen to create something with my images, I'd love to see.
Many Blessings,
Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake

Shabby Chic Jewelry Storage and Display Idea

I guess because I make so much assemblage jewelry and collect quite a few different pieces and styles, I like to look at my treasures...I like to have them out so that at any time I walk by them in my bedroom I can gently brush the tips of my fingers along the bits and baubles...thinking of every sweet soul that created those bits of beauty from their deepest heart.

My wheel of goodness and joyful reminders of all of the dear people I've met along the way. So simple to make, and easy to use. I've been wanting to share this project with you forever. I clip earrings on the spokes and hang them on the hooks. This is also great for cuffs and rings.

This project is sooooo simple! I think finding the old carriage wheel might be the hardest part. I just happened upon it while out and about several years ago. I didn't know at the time what it would be. I just knew it would be useful and fun. Try looking on ebay, etsy, artfire, craigslist, or even call around to the old junk malls and antique stores.Once you find your old wheel, be sure it is the kind with the solid kind of tire, so your hooks stay in. Screw some larger than average sized cup hooks into the wheel at evenly spaced intervals. I dipped mine into a chemical called  "Novacan Black" to darken them a bit. And that's about it! I embellished the center part with a hunk of filigree and an old vintage brooch. Use E-6000 glue to glue anything on. Just sand each surface a bit before adhering, because most likely your surfaces will be rusty and such.

In case you were wondering who made some of the lovely pieces on my wheel, here is a little list of designers that I hope you will visit! They are all so talented and such sweet spirits.

* Colorful wire wrapped necklaces and birdy earrings are from dear Liz. Visit her shop here:

www.lizlamoreux.etsy.com

* Shabby tribal earrings and various necklaces with buttons and bits are made my Marina. Visit her shop here: www.fancifuldevices.etsy.com

* Sweet  round broken china pink floral pin by sweet Lana, who makes the sweetest Marie Antoinette inspired things here: www.fionaandthefig.etsy.com

*  Gorgeous pottery earrings by Michelle right here: www.mudluscious01.etsy.com

*  Favorite Queen Anne's Lace embroidered pendant necklace (not pictured because I was wearing it) made by dear heart Corrine at www.SeptemberHouse.etsy.com 

* Amazing leather, sterling and cross "faith" necklace by beautiful Nina right here: www.ninabagley.etsy.com

* Large flower necklace, a gift from my daughter years ago.

* Super long antique hand knotted beaded jet necklace, a lucky find. (and a big fave)

*  Pale celluloid earrings, and long pale blue pearl and crystal earrings are by yours truly. You can find me here: www.sacredcake.etsy.com

My wheel has gotten a bit messy now that I'm really lookin' at it! I hope this project gets your creative wheels spinning...

Think of the possibilities to use this idea for an old hunk of wood or cutting board, vintage cane, mirror frame...anything that can hold a cup hook!

AND as always, you can write me with any questions right here:

sacred_cake {at} yahoo [dot] com

Many Blessings to You and Yours,

Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake

Assemblage Jewelry Angel Ornaments, a nifty holiday project idea

I had an order for quite a few ornaments recently and wanted to share some of them with you. It is a fairly simple project, that will hopefully stir your imagination as well!

What you will need:
large vintage filigree piece
photograph of a small face for the center
some clear plastic or celophane to cover the center
vintage jewelry parts and pieces
old buttons
old chandelier crystal (also found on ebay or etsy.com)
e-6000 glue (found at walmart, online, or at a craft store)
aged ribbon or seam binding
diamond glaze
sheet music or decorative paper

each one with crinkled aged seam binding ribbon hanger

each have different vintage chandelier crystal dangles

sweet little vintage boy angel ornament

Directions:
Cut the angel's face a bit larger than the hole in the filigree, along with a piece of mica, or plastic. I used a piece of old yellowed plastic on some and a piece of Mica on the others. Glue the circle of Mica on to the back of the filigree by beading a little glue around the opening. Place the plastic disc over the opening and clamp the edges with small clamps or press under a book. Be sure to put a piece of plastic, like a ziploc bag between the ornament and the book, so the book doesn't stick to your ornament.
Working with one ornament at a time, coat the plastic on the back with a coat of diamond glaze and firmly press the photo onto the plastic. Press out any air bubbles. Don't worry, imperfection is part of the charm!
Now, turn your angel over and add your embellishments. I used vintage jewelry parts and pieces, antique mother of pearl buttons and seam binding ribbon that I aged myself with walnut ink. Be sure to wear safety glasses when removing the backs from old jewelry.
E-6000 glue is self leveling, so the backs of your vintage parts do not have to be completely flat, though it helps to sand them down as flat as possible. I use a dremel tool, but a basic metal file works well too.
For the backs of the ornament, I glued on a square of scalloped vintage sheet music to cover.

antique little girl's face ornament

If you don't want to cut an old photo, just make a copy of it on your computer, like I did. I used three different sweet little faces for my angels. You can even make these with photographs of your own children or ancestors...these are too cute to store away after Christmas! They make very cute decor wherever you need a bit of cheer and sparkle!
***If you'd like me to create one for you, just leave a comment with your email address (it will absolutely not be published), and how many you'd like. The price is 18.00 each plus 3.00 to ship, and will be billed to you by my business Paypal account through the email address you provide. I can most certainly make these with any photograph you'd like, or the ones I have shown here. Each one will be one of a kind!

antique angel baby ornament

Stay tuned for more holiday projects!
Blessings and Light,
Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake

My Talisman, the first Assemblage Necklace, and my dear Vintage Photo Booth Photos for You to Use!

my dear sweet talisman

She smiles and says, something is coming...it is a secret that I can hardly keep, but it's good. It's really really good.Wait for it. Just wait. and keep going. Do what brings you joy. Because you only get this one wild and crazy life. This is not a dress rehearsal.  Hold on to your child-like wonder, your creativity, your smile.

I found the vintage photo booth picture of her while dumpster diving after the residents of a small house fire began clearing their basement. I spent hours that day foraging for old books, photographs, antique lace and scraps...it was the most amazing "dumpster dive" I had ever encountered. (and I've had many. My children will unabashedly attest.) I went back for one more look when the throw away frenzy came to an end...and there she was...at the very, very bottom of the bin. A bit wet. A bit dirty. A little lost and forgotten.
I took her home.
I began making my assemblage jewelry a few years ago after I purchased a huge 20 pound box of junk jewelry parts from Ebay. I made that necklace first, and sealed her sweetness inside of it.
She is my talisman, when i feel the prying fingers of doubt and dismay pulling at my spirit. I wear her, and she brings me joy. She reminds me that anonymous wholesale or warmly known, the work of my hands will still be out there...touching lives...bringing conversation or compliments, or making women smile at themselves in the mirror. That's what it is all about, she tells me. It's about touching lives. It's about what we leave behind. it's about bringing joy and helping you feel pretty and brides feel beautiful on their most special day~

one of lovely "my brides" Celeste, wearing Joyous earrings. click image to see

So sweet that she has the same beautiful smile that the girl in my talisman has...and her photo and sweet words came along just when I needed reassurance that what I do for a living is significant and relevant in this world.

Ann, vintage photo booth photo

Would you like to make something with some of my collection of vintage photo booth photographs? The collection below was given to me by a sweet friend recently. They were all neatly displayed in a large photo album. Each photo booth photo was labeled underneath with the name of the person. I gently removed them from the album one by one, and wrote the name on the back of each so that I could know their names and return them to the proper spot in the book. I adore these types of photographs, and have been collecting them for years.
The one for my talisman necklace is the original photograph that I sealed with resin. You may use these for a project as well, but be sure to seal the photograph with something like matte medium before using the resin, so the photograph doesn't bleed.

Bernice, vintage photo booth picture

Stas, vintage military photo booth picture

Stella, vintage photo booth photo

Frances, vintage photobooth picture

Elsie, vintage photo booth photo

I just adore old photographs and my collection is ever growing. I have so many more of these tiny photos! If you'd like, I can email you the files. I'd love to share more of them with you.
Here is a collection of more. I scanned them at a high resolution, so they should print well.

My address is sacred_cake (at) yahoo [dot] com. Just send me an email and ask for more.
If you have any questions about how to make a necklace like mine, I'm happy to oblige.

Hey, have I told you lately how beautiful you are? In so many ways...
and I'm happy you are here today.

 Blessings and Light,
Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake

An Antique Assemblage Tutorial, a Trash to Treasure Stor

We are doing a bit of restoration on our 100 year old home, which unfortunately, entails crumbling plaster here and there.

So, this little tutorial was born out of  lovely finds that appeared among the crumbled plaster in the bottom of the livingroom wall...true story! Imagine our amazement, pulling little bits of history from the dusty mess. We found a well worn antique corsage, an antique boy's collar, and an antique child's shoe and wooden thread spools. I didn't take photographs of each find as it came to us, but I did get a shot of the antique child's shoe that looks to be from the late 1800's. It looked pretty sad. Full of sand and dusty mess~

concealed shoe before

concealed shoe after being cleaned and stuffed

I imagine the life this little concealed shoe had. Handed down from child to child to child.  Repaired over and over and over again with patches and tiny nails, until one day, lost to time. Only to be rediscovered over 100 years later, in a very unlikely place! So, being the sentimental and quirky peeps that we are (my husband and I), we wanted to preserve the find somehow, in a creative way~
SO, here is what you need for the tutorial:

an old shoe
some tissue paper for stuffing the shoe
a small chunk of floral foam
some stiff wire
this and that
some old stuff
maybe some moss if you'd like
your imagination
an old photgraph (I'll send you one if you'd like!)(I have lots.)

Directions in a "nutshell"~
First, clean your old shoe as well as you'd like it to be. We wanted ours to keep the shabby chic look, so i just brushed it off well and applied a bit of vaseline to clean the leather a bit.
Then stuff your shoe to the desired plumpness up to the bottom of the heel. Cut a chunk of floral foam, and carve it a bit to fit inside the top of the shoe so it is kinda snug.
After putting in the floral foam, apply wire to your objects by hot gluing them on, or wrapping it around. I used a piece of wire bent in the shape of a "U" to add a chunk of old lace.~

I added some additional old looking velvet violets to the corsage we found in the wall, took a long piece of wire and wrapped one end around the bunch. Trim it a little and stick it down into the floral foam and adjust to taste.
To add the photograph, I curved  a piece of stiff wire into a long "U" shape and hot glued it to the back of a cabinet card (an antique photograph on stiff cardboard.) The "U" shape gives the photograph two prongs to put into the foam so it has more support. I then covered the wire with a piece of paper so it would look better from the back.~

My husband wanted to somehow incorporate the antique little boy's collar, so i added a dab of hot glue under the back fold of the collar and added it to the end of another piece of wire...then into the floral foam.

the "foof"

Then I added a few more violets here and there,  and bits of floral moss peeking out from the buttons of the shoe, and here and there along the edges. I made a "foof" (my made up word) of shabby chic-ish dark green silk organza. It adds dimension and a bit more shape and fill to the arrangement. To make a "foof" of your own, gather some organza or lace in a pleasing bunch, then twist the wire tightly around one end. Fluff it to desired foofiness and stick into the arrangement to give it a bit of fullness.~



and here is the finished product~

Antique Shoe Arrangement

I hope this maybe inspires you! You too can make something from an old shoe and a bunch of old junk.
See you again soon with some fun vintage photo booth photo printables for collages and such. You will want to see these!
Blessings and Light to You and Yours,
jennifer

Functional Vintage Assemblage Art Tutorial to Share

I've been busy making some of my favorite things for the online shop....using everyday kinds of objects and elevating them to little functional assemblage art pieces. I get the inspiration from the curls of wire that I use, from one of my favorite artists, Brian Andreas.

étincelle

This is a bit time consuming, but fairly straightforward.

Here are the things you will need:

vintage salt shakers
sturdy wire, 20 gauge steel is best (check your local hardware store)
two part epoxy resin

small paper cups

wooden or plastic sticks for stirring

vintage pins or earrings

metal file or Dremel tool with sanding bit

wire cutters

paper for protecting your surface 

paper towels

safety glasses

painters tape (blue)

e-6000 glue

Directions:

First, clean and dry your shakers. Set them on the protective paper on a sturdy, flat surface. Keep the lids off, but set them next to the matching shaker. Put on your safety glasses.

Cut lengths of the wire about 2 1/2" feet long. Curl one end around your finger a bit to shape it and stick the wire down into the shaker bottom. Do this for each one you want to make. To keep from poking your eyes, curl the top tips a bit to round them out.

If you want two curls coming from the top, like mine, use two strands of wire, or make a "V" shape and stick it down in there.

Next, mix about 1/4 of a cup of the resin in the paper cup, stirring with the stick until completely blended. No need to measure perfectly to make 1/4C. Just be sure to add equal amounts of resin into the cup. It usually comes in squeeze bottles, so hold the bottles over your cup in each hand and squeeze them together in unison and it will be right enough for this project! (because no one will see it if it gets bubbly and imperfect.)(It's ok)(Really. It is.)(It will get hard enough to work fine.)(Trust yourself.)

OK, this part is where you have to work quickly. After you have mixed your resin, squeeze your cup a bit to make a pour spout shape at the top that will fit into the top of the shaker. Small enough to pour the resin into the shaker. This can ba a bit tricky if you have a shaker with a narrow top opening! Especially if you already have wire sticking out of the opening. The trick though, is to cover the bottom of the shaker AND the wire in it, so that it will be sturdy when the resin hardens around it.

If you get resin on the shaker, just wipe it off with a paper towel as soon as possible.

Now, slide the shaker top on to the wires, threading it through the holes you want them to go through. Twist on the cap.

 

Curl the wire, beginning with a small curl, then work your way outward to form a spiral. Now to decorate, be sure to put on your safety glasses, and remove the backs from the pins and earrings with your wire cutters. File the backs down roughly with your file or Dremel tool. Hold them up to the shakers to see where you'd like them to be placed. File that spot on the shaker a bit to roughen it up. Lay it down and put a dot of glue on the roughened area of your pin or earring or whathaveyou. Wait about 30 seconds, then place your vintage element on the roughened spot on the shaker. Use a piece of painters tape over it to hold it in place and set overnight, or wait several hours for the glue to semi-set before adding more pieces on top of that one. The tape peels right off when you're finished.

Whew! We're done!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I'm very approachable! Ask me anything. Just leave a comment here with your email address so I can answer. Anonymous is just fine. No hoop jumping allowed here. No letters to decipher and punch in to leave a comment.

milk glass shakers with vintage earrings!

an example of an oil can holder I made

If you don't think you want to fuss with all of those directions, then you can  purchase some of these pieces from my etsy shop! I can also do custom orders for weddings. These would make great place holders or displays for any shabby chic wedding. Speaking of weddings, here is a recent shabby bridal comb I've got in the shop right now.

Delight

oil cans featured in Somerset Life 2010

I hope you have fun with this project and it sparks your creativity!

Blessings and Light to You All,

Jennifer Valentine of Sacred Cake