Etsy Love: Sparkles!

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Diana

*On occasion, I take a look at some of the beautiful items found at one of the best places for buying and selling hand-made and vintage: Etsy. Buying hand-made and vintage lets you own beautiful, unique objects with character. It keeps things out of the landfills and supports artists and small businesses who are trying to make a living doing what they love. If you have a particular theme you’d love to see, drop me a line and let me know. *

I’ve become mildly obsessed with sparkly and glittery things lately. Maybe it’s the holidays and NYE, or maybe it’s just that glitter is awesome. Either way, here are some of my favorite sparkly picks from Etsy:

Fine silver post earrings with iridescent silver sparkles $47

Tiny Galaxies (the whole shop is sparkly!)

Black Noir Resin Glitter Heart $20

I Sew Cute (lots of glitter here too)

Silver Sparkle Bow Clips $19

Janine Basil

Blackened Silver Sequins Clutch $45 (sale)

It’s So Clutch

1970s Sequin Dress $64

Wildfell Hall Vintage

Etsy Love: Origami

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Diana

*Every Wednesday, I take a look at some of the beautiful items found at one of the best places for buying and selling hand-made and vintage: Etsy. Buying hand-made and vintage lets you own beautiful, unique objects with character. It keeps things out of the landfills and supports artists and small businesses who are trying to make a living doing what they love. If you have a particular theme you’d love to see, drop me a line and let me know. *

The beautiful, geometric folds of origami can apply to more than just paper when it comes to Etsy.

Origami Fabric Tiles Necklace, $25

Chomel

Silver Origami Cat Earrings, $32

Allegro Arts

Origami Kuru Shou Sienna, $38

Homako

Sterling Silver Origami Crane Necklace, $30

Piper Blue

Etsy Love: Clean and Modern

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Diana

Black Leaf Studs Sterling Silver, $65

Lila Ruby King

Draping Silver Drops, $40

Local Library

Modern Leaf Earrings, $19

Splurge

Large Silver Cuff with Geometric Pattern, $160

To the Metal

Sterling Silver Ring Remember, $377

The Jewelry Story

DIY: Layered Chain Necklace

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Diana

Last year, I posted about the beautiful layered chain necklaces I was noticing on Etsy. I love them, but I never actually got around to buying one. Recently, I began to notice that I had quite a few silver chain necklaces and bracelets that I never wear. With a few jump rings and a pair of pliers, I transformed them into a lovely diy chain necklace.

I started out with four necklaces and two bracelets. The necklace with the largest links will be my base necklace, because it’s easier to work with. I ended up not using the jump rings pictured, because they were to large to fit into the links of my base. You can buy supplies like this at your local craft store. Jewelry pliers would have been better, but I don’t own any yet.

Step 1: Remove end pieces.

Take the lobster clasps and end pieces off of your necklaces and bracelets. Leave the small ring at the end of each chain intact – you will need these in the next step.

Step 2: Position necklaces and bracelets in the way that you would like them attached, and use small jump rings and pliers to attach them to your base necklace.

It may take a bit of trial and error to find how you would like your chains arranged. I decided to attach the three necklaces together closer to the top of the chain, while I attached the two bracelets lower. There’s an infinite number of ways to arrange your chains, and it’s pretty easy to change it if you change your mind.

And that’s it! Say hello to your awesome diy chain necklace that costs next to nothing, since you likely already have most of the supplies. I’ve already worn mine several times, and I think it will become a new staple for me.

Etsy Love: For the Shutterbug

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Diana

I’ve loved photography ever since I was a kid with a cheap film camera with no zoom or special features, trying to snap pictures of birds on telephone wires. I’ve upgraded since then to a Canon Rebel DSLR, and my love of photography remains. If you’re a shutterbug like me, then you’ll love these camera themed items that I found on Etsy:

Slide Tube Cuff, $45
(it’s made from the innards of a telephoto lens)

Revisionists Designs

Shutterbug Camera Ring, $8

Dillon Designs

3D Paparazzi Camera Ring, $25

Grigio

Vintage Brownie Camera Tote Bag, $16

Baostudio

Diana Vintage Camera Graphic Tee, $18

Happy Family

DSLR Camera Bag in Turquoise Plaid, $115

Stash

Etsy Love: Jewelry Organization

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Diana

Hey wait a minute, didn’t I write about jewelry organization yesterday? Why yes, I did. But I decided it would be a nice tie in to feature some fantastic items on Etsy that are great for storing and displaying your jewelry. Some are vintage, some handmade. Some are very affordable, others are more expensive. But again, it’s better to buy something a bit more expensive that’s handmade than to buy cheap items at a big box store that will fall apart in a year.

Here’s some lovely jewelry organization items I found on Etsy:

Porcelain Glove Mold, $36

Blue Bell Bazaar

Jewelry Organizer Drawer, $98

Bluebird Heaven

Mid-century Serving Tray, $15

Bohemian Vintage

Cup holder or jewelry holder, $15

Lily Shabby Chic

Elegant 54 Pair Earring Holder 20 Peg Jewelry Organizer $39.95

Jewelry Holders For You

The Orange Cottage Treasure Box, $65

Treealee Designs

My Jewelry Organization

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Diana

As you probably know, I love to buy handmade and vintage jewelry. In fact, jewelry is really one of my favorite things to buy. It always fits, no matter how much your weight fluctuates. It can instantly transform an outfit. And it’s just darn pretty to look at.

When you have a good amount of jewelry, you have to have some way to organize it, or you’ll never be able to find anything. For awhile, I was tempted by expensive jewelry organizers that had a spot for every little piece of jewelry. Since I couldn’t really afford those, I had to come up with my own, less expensive system. And I love it.

I bought this wooden coat rack at a garage sale. I think it maybe cost $1. I use it to hang all my necklaces and non-cuff/bangle bracelets. And yes, I keep them in rainbow order. In fact, there’s a couple necklaces in there that I thrifted solely because they filled a color gap on my necklace display.

I inherited this vintage jewelry box from my grandmother. I keep all my post earrings, rings and small jewelry in here.

I bought this vintage mug holder from Mask Snorkel Fins for $12 (which is still a whole lot cheaper than similar items at Urban Outfitters). I use it to store all of my vintage bangle and cuff bracelets, which I’ve been acquired quite a few of lately.

This mesh star is another garage sale find – I think it was a couple bucks. I use it to display all my large hoops and dangly earrings.

The total cost for all of this was under $20, and I love how it has character to it, unlike those expensive organizers I was looking at.

Etsy Love: Out of Time

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Diana

Since I mismanaged my time yesterday and didn’t get a post written, I decided to make today’s Etsy Love post clock-themed. There’s a plethora of vintage and hand-made clocks on Etsy, but I decided to focus on clock inspired things you can wear with this post. Enjoy!

Time Flies Unisex Tee, $14

Ink On Lint

Beach Time – Antique 14k Gold Filled Pocket Watch Locket, Sea Glass Necklace, $125

Newsprout

Blue Face Copper Dial Handmade Wristwatch, $115

Kapa Designs

Calculator Watch Cuff Bracelet in Teal, $22

Brave Moonman

Perpetual Necklace, Custom Number, $20

Of Matter

Atlas Necklace, $16

Wynn Studios

Etsy Love: Initially in Love

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Diana

I love initial charms. I wear an initial necklace from Kira Ferrer quite often, and it’s one of my favorite items of jewelry. There’s something so lovely and classic about initial jewelry – it’s one of those things that never go out of style. Here’s some great initial pieces from Etsy:

Vintage Letterpress Necklace, $33

Gwen Delicious

Initials Necklace with Gemstone, $42.50

Alegra Jewelry

Vintage Typewriter Key Necklace, $14

Webby Sue

Simply Stated Flower Necklace, $26

Jeneri Jewelry

The Original Family Tree Initial Necklace, $39

Soul Peaces

Customizable Initial Necklace, $10

Little Morning Glory

Etsy Love: Fancy and Filigree

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Diana

I love the beautiful and intricate lace patterns of a good filigree, so I’ve devoted this entire Etsy Love set to jewelry pieces featuring this technique.