Recently I bought a beginner's needle felting kit from Gnome Sweet Gnome Gifts on eBay. I just got it last week and I have to say, I LOVE IT! Needle felting is so much fun! You get to jab a needle over and over into a ball of wool and it turns into felt shapes! My very first attempt, I made a little white cube. Then I decided to get crazy and do something with colour so I did a white and pink polka dotted circle. Now that I was feeling pretty confident in my skills, I made a little birdie (by far my fav thing), and now I'm hooked. I can't believe how much fun it is and how much you can actually do with it. I've had to put my kit away in hiding for a while because I've got midterms and won't study if it's there tempting me, but can't wait to get back to it as soon as my exams are done. I'm going to make some great keychains and cell phone danglers so keep your eye out for them in the shop! Can't wait!
I've been on a Star Baby making frenzy lately so I thought I would do a little blogging on what exactly goes into the making of a beautiful pair of Star Babies earrings.
The first step I take is of course to pick out the paper that will eventually become stars. I usually use scrapbooking paper because it comes in big sizes, has a good weight and finish, is available in lots of cute patterns, and is pretty sturdy. So I head down to my local Michael's and browse the scrapbooking aisle or sometimes I even go to one of the few specialty scrapbooking stores that we have here in Winnipeg. Choosing the paper is one of my favorite parts of making stars because I LOVE looking at all the great possibilities out there. The fall line I have this year is actually centered around a couple of amazing Martha papers that I just couldn't resist (despite the steep price compared to other papers - eek).
The next step is cutting the paper into strips and folding them into stars. So I pull out my dad's old guillotine paper cutter (I'm currently saving up for my own) and start slicing. After the paper is all chopped up, I take a stack of strips, pop a movie into the VCR (yes, I still have a VCR), hunker down on the floor and start folding. I've gotten pretty good at this with all the practice. You have to fold just tight enough to get enough tension for the stars to puff up and, with thick layers of scrapbooking paper, it takes quite a lot of force to push in the indents, but once it's puffed, it won't squish like plain paper stars will. By the end of the movie, I've got a big pile of 'good' stars in front of me, a little pile of rejects (I'm picky and don't like using imperfect stars), and a very sore thumb nail! I find a good thumb nail is the perfect tool for pushing in the sides, but I get a big purple bruise under my nail after a while. Haha. Below is a picture of the stars I made for my new fall line. I just love the colour pallette I chose this year!
After all my strips are folded up, I pick out pairs of stars and thread them onto sterling head pins with sterling ear wires. After 3 coats of a special waterbased paper sealant, they get 3 coats of a shiny acrylic varnish. All these coats of sealant help to protect the paper and keep them from getting flattened. I let each coat cure for at least 24 hours before adding the next one and the final coat gets cured for at least 72 hours before it is packaged up. I hang them on racks to dry so that they won't get marred while wet.
Finally, once they're all coated and dry, I store them in individual plastic baggies where they wait to be purchased by some lucky gal. Those pairs that are purchased are put in special packaging and shipped in protective packing along with some care instructions to prolong the life of your Star Babies.
Overall it takes about two weeks for stars to go from start to finish. But it's definitely worth the wait for your one of a kind original Star Babies! Some even say that these folded origami stars are good luck so what could be better than good luck earrings!
I've been trying my hardest to figure out how to take better photographs of my jewelry so that it's easier for all of you out there to see just how beautiful they look in person. As I don't have the money to have them professionally done or to buy professional equipment for myself, I'm forced to improvise. So far I managed to create a makeshift light tent out of a rubbermaid bin and some extra bright fluorescent lights (aren't I creative) so now all there is to it is to figure out how to display everything within it. As soon as I can figure that out then all of the new jewelry will be up and ready to purchase in the store. I thank you all for your patience. In the meantime however, you can always email me if there's something specific you're looking to buy. I'm always up for doing custom work!
The Vogue show is finished now and it seemed to go off without a hitch. I managed to make it to see the Saturday night showing (apparently the most popular night - the lineup was insanity) and it was a blast. Cody Paige, the brilliantly creative designer for the 'Not in Kansas Anymore' scene, did an amazing job of the clothing. The outfits were so adorable and fun, just like the designer, haha. Also, my jewelry seemed to fit right in, despite the fact that the two parts were done separately.
I took some pictures of the models backstage before they went out but everything was such a rush that they may not be too fab. The important part is that you can see the clothing and jewelry though, right? I'll be uploading some of the shots into the gallery soon, so be sure to take a peek. Some of the jewelry from the show is still up for grabs too so as soon as my designer sends it all back to me, it'll be up for sale in the shop. If you want more information on Cody and her beautiful designs, just shoot me an email and I'll see if I can get you in touch with her.
Well, I just hosted another shopping party and it was a great success. I saw a lot of new faces this time so thanks everyone for getting the word out. Unfortunately, I've sold so much stuff that, as you can probably see, there's not much left to buy in the online shop. But don't worry, I plan to fix that in the next few weeks.
Also, my jewelry is for sale in Fort Frances, Ontario! So if you live in the area, head on down to Lowey's Gifts & Collectables, R.R. #1 Fort Frances, Ontario. I'm also going to try to get my jewelry in some other stores, so if you don't like shopping online, keep your eyes peeled for new announcements.
So once again it's been a while, but with summer coming up, I'm planning a lot of changes to the site so watch out!
In the news, I recently hosted a jewelry party at my house to raise money for New York. It ended up going so well that I'm making it a regular event! I'm hoping to have the next one sometime in November so it's perfect timing for all of those Christmas gifts. All you gals on my mailing list be sure to watch your mailboxes for your invites.
Another announcement: to raise money for Breast Cancer research (in honour of my mum) I made a bunch of pink jewelry to sell, with all profits being donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. They sold so quickly that I ran out and still am filling orders for more but as soon as I catch up then I will be sure to post some in the shop for all you online buyers. Finally, jewelry that makes you look good, and feel good!
Overall it takes about two weeks for stars to go from start to finish. But it's definitely worth the wait for your one of a kind original Star Babies! Some even say that these folded origami stars are good luck so what could be better than good luck earrings!