New item: Vintage glass Japanese cabochon earrings - Pale Blue

I adore vintage glass cabochons, particularly the cut-glass floral kind that were very popular in Western Europe and Japan after World War II. These pale blue earrings are very special, as the cabochons have aged differently, making one slightly paler blue than the other.

They'd be perfect for the vintage-loving woman who likes unusual and unique cocktail jewelry.

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New item: Ceramic hamburger earrings

Yes, you read that correctly. These are earrings that look like hamburgers. Why? Because I can.

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New item: Acrylic rose earrings - White

These white acrylic rose earrings were super fun to make and turned out very well, if I do say so myself. They're lightweight and very strong, but look like porcelain or ceramic depending on the light. They go with pretty much everything and are perfect for spring, summer, weddings--you name it. I love these and think you will too.

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New item: Enamel rose earrings - Mustard

I found these adorable enameled metal roses on ArtFire and decided to turn them into earrings. A little non-toxic, permanent adhesive and some surgical stainless steel posts later, they were done. They're lightweight, cute, and sophisticated but flirty at the same time. I love these!

What do you think?

New items: Framed necklaces in Blue Sky, Forest, and Seawater

I bought a small sampler of blank, hand-painted pendants from ArtFire artisan, Virago Creations, and decided to capture a little bit of nature in each one. So I carefully cut measured pieces from a recycled travel magazine and adhered them to the frames using painstakingly applied layers of Diamond Glaze. Then I made bails out of ribbon and put them on ball chains in varying sizes and colors.

The results were very pleasing and I think this little set is my favorite series I've made so far. I like it so much, in fact, that I'm keeping the fourth necklace ("Smoke", not pictured) to wear.

Check them out and see for yourself.

Blue Sky

Forest

Seawater

New item: Decoupage vase - Blue Flowers on Flames

This repurposed glass vase came with a flower delivery we received many months ago. The original plan was the decoupage the flowers on and then give it a thick coat of acrylic paint as a background. That didn't work out, however, so instead of acrylic paint I used orange crepe paper for an interesting textured look.

I'm really pleased with the finished result and think this would make a cool accessory for any room.

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New items: Upcycled napkin rings - Beige Palm and Pink and Purple

We've made two more sets of upcycled napkin rings, in a soothing, tropical beige and palm tree pattern, and a purple floral and pale pink combination. The sets are very different but, as always, made of upcycled paper towel tubes, craft paper, and non-toxic glues and acrylics. They also come with a muslin storage bag to keep them safe when not in use.

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Beige Palm

Pink and Purple Floral

New items: Decoupage dish sets - Blue Urn and Green Orchid

We were shopping at a well-known big box department store for various things and I stumbled upon this set of children's play dishes. There were four sets in four different colors, and each set had a bowl, saucer, and plate. I thought that I could do something with it, and it was on sale and had no logos on it, so why not? When we got home I stuck it under some books and promptly forgot about it.

Recently I found it again and decided to practice decoupaging images onto the plates. Those turned out so well that I thought maybe I could sell the sets in my ArtFire store. They'd make a great gift for someone seeking a cool way to stash coins or paperclips on their desktop, or they could be propped on a shelf to add a splash of color to any room.

What do you think?

Blue Urn

Green Orchid

New item: Green decoupage mirror - Orange Blossoms

Like "Wildlife" and "Superhero" before it, "Orange Blossoms" was made using basic decoupage techniques. I hand-stained a raw wood mirror and then carefully applied hand-cut orange flowers and paisley pieces to the frame over a thin layer of adhesive. The whole shebang was then coated with thick layers of glue, over and over again, to help the paper edges blend in with their surroundings. The project took several days, as I had to be sure that each layer of glue was fully dry before applying a new one, but it was a lot of fun. The end result is quite pleasing, don't you think?

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New item: Red decoupage mirror - Superhero

This mirror was made in much the same way as my previous decoupage mirror, "Wildlife". I stained a raw wood mirror by hand and then painstakingly applied hand-cut pieces of a single ply of a colored paper napkin to the mirror, which was coated in a thin layer of non-toxic adhesive. Then, using decoupage technique, I delicately coated the whole thing in a thin layer of glue, being careful not to tear the napkin pieces. After the glue was mostly dry but still a bit tacky, I gently distressed the paper for a slightly aged, vintage look.

After that it was just a matter of applying a few more coats of glue. Time consuming but fun.

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New item: Dainty Yellow mobile home collage

This collage is a little different than the others in the mobile home series, as it's a colored line drawing of a trailer instead of a photograph. The original image had adorable little white stepstools at each door and some wrought iron curlicue adornments in the back, but cutting those out proved to be impossible...or, at least, not entirely worth the major major effort it would have required.

One thing I love about découpage is you can change the source images to suit your purposes. The stepstools and wrought iron were cute, but they didn't work here. And that's okay. Dainty Yellow is still pretty dainty even without them.

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New item: Necklace and hairpin set - Flew the coop

We had so much fun making this little pair. The necklace features a bright blue metal birdcage pendant, with its own swinging trapeze perch and working door, that I adorned with a purple organza ribbon. It hangs from an 18-inch handwoven silvery satin cord with gold metallic threads and a lobster claw.

The hairpin is a simple chromed bobby pin blank, to which I glued a vintage 1950s bright yellow celluloid bird cabochon.

Worn together, it looks like your pet canary has escaped its cage and nestled securely in your hair. How fun, and so perfect for spring.

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New item: Recycled sterling silver ring: Vintage glass cabochon in coral

We made another adjustable recycled sterling ring, this time with a red cabochon instead of a blue one. The results are pretty satisfying and we think this ring will sell. (Though maybe not as fast as the first ring, which sold within hours of listing!)

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New item: Upcycled whiskey bottle with cork stopper - Crazy plaid

This cool, old-timey bottle was on its way to the recycling bin when I rescued it from certain destruction. It appears to be handmade glass (though I'm not completely sure) and looked great even before I adorned it with alternating strips of colorful craft paper and a thin coat of high gloss protective acrylic.

I think this would look fabulous in a kitchen or bedroom, or it would make a fantastic bud vase. Do you like it?

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New item: Upcycled medicine bottle - Greens and blues

This upcycled veterinary medicine bottle would make the perfect stash jar for people who have things to stash. It's waterproof, airtight, and filters UV light. It's also decorated with hand-cut patterned paper and has a thin coat of acrylic gloss on it for extra protection. I hated the idea of throwing such a cool bottle away--imagine how many medicine bottles just like this one are sitting in landfills? Yikes. Why not turn it into something you can use over and over again? So we did.

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SOLD: Recycled sterling silver ring: Vintage European glass cabochon in peacock

We took a vintage 1960s European glass cabochon and adhered it to a sterling silver, adjustable ring that is made out of 100% recycled silver. The ring has three-dimensional flower blossoms and leaves and catches the light in a very pretty way. We think it would make a great cocktail or party ring, and just in time for summer.

This item has been sold.

New item: Upcycled napkin rings - Red and white floral

Like our other upcycled napkin rings, these are made of upcycled paper towel tubes and pretty paper. This is easily our favorite set we've made. The red and black go beautifully together and we think they're awfully sophisticated, considering what they are. How cute, and just in time for summer!

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New item: Upcycled napkin rings - Spring green

We've made more upcycled napkin rings out of paper towel tubes, pretty paper, and lots of acrylic paint and gloss. It's so much fun to take something that would otherwise wind up in the garbage and turn it into something that's...well, maybe not useful, per se, but at least pretty. Are napkin rings ever really useful? Maybe not, but they sure are cute.

Since we have no shortage of pretty paper, acrylics, or paper towel tubes, we suspect we'll be making lots of these in the future. The muslin bag is hand-stamped with blue dragonflies for that extra warm weather touch. Fun!

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New item: Upcycled napkin rings - Chocolate floral

We sold our first set of upcycled napkin rings and created a custom order for two more sets. Inspired and glad to see that people would willingly pay for decorated slices of a discarded paper towel tube, we created yet another set.

This one was made with pretty, chocolate-brown Japanese chiyogami paper on two rings, and brown dotted craft paper on the other. We hand-mixed a gorgeous sky blue in acrylics for the insides, and gave each ring a thick coat of textured high gloss acrylic. As a finale, we hand-stamped some dragonflies on a pretty little muslin bag for easy, cute storage.

Adorable and just in time for spring.

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New item: Trailer-and-a-Half 1940 mobile home collage

This framed découpage piece was kind of a happy accident. We originally intended for the car to appear to be driving off into the edge of the frame, but mis-measured the dimensions. The result is a funny, surreal half-car towing a shiny trailer from an ad circa 1940. The somber yet pretty background gives it a kind of sophisticated feel. Although it's not what we intended, it's somehow better than it would have been.

Check it out!