Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A Few New Things!

I've been expanding my vintage jewelry line, most recently adding vintage, resin cameos. I am really loving the selection I am finding and will continue to add more pieces. My only complaint with these is there seems to be a limited range of colors available. I do really like the classic carnelian/coral background with an ivory image, but it's hard to find a lot that moves out of that color group. I have a couple in blue and gray currently listed..VERY pretty and more to come in a few more colors, but unfortunately, these aren't available in a wide range of color choices.

A while back I decided to try some of the Asian made crystal beads. I have always been a Swarovski crystal fan, but it is hard these days to make anything with a significant number of crystals and still keep the price range reasonable. Most people are pretty careful with their spending right now and I like creating pieces that are quality, yet affordable. I won't compromise my quality, but I can make adjustments. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this crystal is. It does lack the precision and super high quality standards of Swarovski, but it is still a very decent product. I did find a few beads on the strands I bought at a local bead show that were what I would consider unusable, but all in all, I was very happy with the beads. It should be noted that ALL crystal contains lead. This is the universal difference between glass and crystal. Swarovski crystal is... crystal and contains lead, just like any other crystal bead, or that crystal vase you have.. The metal content is what gives the clarity and weight to crystal you will not get with traditional glass.

I am continuing to play with vintage glass jewels.. always looking for new and interesting colors and finishes. I love the more unique jewels, but they are quite difficult to photograph well. I am working on getting in some awesome colors to transition to fall. Some I have coming are just YUMMY!!!!

If you haven't seen the filigree rings with vintage reproduction flower cabochons on them, give them a look! These are truly fantastic! The price is almost too good to be true...I made myself one and wear it all the time. It is fun, comfortable and very feminine! I love the filigree ring base I was able to get.. these are very nice.. they are not thin, cheap, flimsy stampings.. nor are they really stiff and difficult to size...They are like Goldilocks and the three Bears..."just right"...

I have a great selection of my Vintage Jewel Daisy Pendant Necklaces in my shop now.  Just about every combination of jewels I can get in this size, in both a silver plated brass settings and and antiqued brass setting. I am now setting all the jewels in these myself, I like the creativity that allows me. There is a limited amount of jewels in the size I need for these pendants, so I won't be able to make them in any color, but I have found a lot of choices. I am hand making most of the pendant hangers you see on the necklaces as well.

I have been severely neglecting my bead shop lately.. I intend to try and get some torching done this week and next to hopefully have a few new things to add. Please stop by my Principessa Jewels shop to see all of my latest jewelry offerings and Principessa Glass shop for artisan made lampwork beads!


I've added pages to my blog! Some are still a work in progress, but click on them and check them out! Hopefully you'll find some of the info listed interesting! Thanks for stopping by!

2 comments:

Roth Galleries said...

Your jewelry is awesome ... love the beautiful colors Ashley!

Unknown said...

Muy lindos tus trabajos.
Me encantan !!!
Saludos.
Raquel.