Celine Clutch

Corey and I always look forward to thrift shopping. It's our Sunday event, to wrap up the weekend. Today was no exception, even in the 104 degree heat. After going through all the purses, I was delighted to spot this vintage jewel. It's a black calf skin envelope Celine clutch, with removable strap. This vintage piece which still smells of moth balls, indicating someone rarely used it. Even better, the fob was still on the zipper pull and the interior is in extraordinary condition. The interior gold markings read "Celine Paris Made in Italy".
I love being lucky in thrift!

High Desert Brewing Company Mural

Specifics:
18 feet. 10 inches by 10 inches. Acrylic on gesso prepared canvas. Sealed with a matte Liquitex varnish. 40+ hours.

Upcycled Beaded Cuff - Inspired from the Trend

I noticed this stunning beaded cuff in Lucky Magazine's June 2010 Issue, page 58, called Double Happiness by Stephanie Wells. I was so taken with it that I decided to try to re-create my own. While thrift shopping, I came across a colorful blue, orange and yellow southwestern belt buckle with a leather backing. I carefully cut out the metal buckle and original cream colored leather. Then I replaced it with a flashy gold leather piece, carefully cut by using the buckle as a stencil. I used wood glue to adhere the new leather component to the original stitching backing.

Fortunately I have a lot of junk jewelery to work with and soon found just the right piece to use as the bracelet form. I used a malleable copper cuff so it can adjusted to fit on my wrist. Some say I have little bitty bird wrists. After the gold leather was completely dry, I used a quick clear drying epoxy to connect the copper with the leather back. I applied pressure for about 20 minutes. As you can see from the photo above, the epoxy dries very clear.


The finished cuff looks straight on trend and only cost me a few dollars to complete. And the joy of upcycling two random pieces of junk jewelry is such an exciting endeavor. If you have any unique ideas, I'm listening. In the meantime, though, I can't take off my new cuff!

Just entered a new arts competition entitled America's Next Master Artist.

Here is my needle felted Guadalupe which was featured at the Mexican Consulate in 2008.
You can vote for my link on the title above.

New summer flower pins on my etsy. I even found silver from SIAM, and a victorian baby bracelet today.

Colcha Embroidery

The Spanish word colcha means coverlet or counterpane: however, New Mexicans typically call any bed covering a colcha. Textile enthusiasts use the word colcha to identify an embroidery stitch or a finished piece of embroidery in which the colcha stitch is extensively, if not exclusively, employed. Sabanilla labrada, or wool-on-wool colcha embroidery work, is distinct because it may be one of the few textiles developed and made in New Mexico during the Spanish colonial period.

The colcha stitch is similar to the basma stitich, an embroidery stitch used by Jewish women making fine silk altar cloths, and to the bokhara stitch, an embroidery stitch used in Turkey prior to the Muslim conquest.

There are many theories as to how colcha embroidery evolved. The colonists may have been inspired by the flowers and leaves they saw on East Indian chintz, or indianilla. It is also possible that the Oriental silk shawls imported to isolated outposts of Spain's new kingdom inspired the settlers to imitate the pretty floral shapes using available, albeit coarser, materials. Many of the designs used in New Mexican colchas, including the double-headed Hapsburg eagle, are found in Spanish and Mexican embroideries. In design and function, the linen and silk embroidery of Spain and Mexico is closely related to the colcha embroidery found in the American Southwest.

http://www.newmexico.org/hispanic/learn/colcha.php

HGTV - That's Clever - Painting and Wool Work