Book Review

I am a lover of books.  I love all kinds of books.  I just love to read.  My Kindle is packed with books that will take me years to get through but so be it.   My husband often says that I am too busy reading about doing things or fantasy lives than to do much else.

That is not true, of course.  He said that recently because in our packing getting ready to move he thought I was going to get rid of all of my books.  I looked at him as if he was a crazy person and said "are you insane?".  So, they are all packed up.  I did get rid of some of them to give to the local community store for others to enjoy but I don't like getting rid of them.

Anyway, I say that to say that I was reading one of my fav bloggers who make's jewelry the other day and she did a book review about a book that was recently published.  When I went to Amazon to purchase the book (yes, I bought it) I found another one.  It's by a woman who's jewelry creations I love.  So I'm going to do my own review of this book.




It's called The Jewelry Maker's Design Book: an alchemy of objects by Deryn Mentock.






Front cover.

Back cover.

I have admired her work for some time and I always wondered how she developed her style.  Well, in this wonderful book she explains how she developed her style and where her love for found objects came from.  Her style is Bohemian but it's also romantic and feminine.

And what I really love is that she explains how she developed her own style of jewelry making and how you too can develop your own style.  I think it's a magical book in that I have been wanting to figure out what I really like and how to put it together into my own personal style that looks like no one else's.  I believe this book can show me how.

For me, when I purchase  a new jewelry book I usually skip the introduction to get right to the projects.  And if I find a project I like I make it as a gift for a friend or family member and then I try to figure out ways to use the techniques and use them in my own way.  I don't want to just copy someone else's designs.  Well I couldn't skip the introduction to this book because it is packed with information that I haven't found in other books.

Now, I will say that Ms Mentock's style of jewelry might not be for everyone but the techniques she shows you can be used whatever your style of jewelry making.  I have been making jewelry for about 5 years and so I have developed some good techniques simply by doing them over and over again.  I'd consider myself intermediate.

 If you are new to jewelry making you might want to start out knowing some of the basic techniques first before plunging into this book.  But for those of you who already know how to make loops, wrapped loops, how to string beads and use crimps to secure your creations etc.  I believe you can learn something that is new to you.

As you can tell I love this book. I find the instructions are clear and easily followed.  So if you want a new jewelry making book where you can learn some new techniques and gain some insight on using found objects this book may be for you.

You can check it out on Amazon and read other reviews.

Ms Mentock also has a blog that I stalk.  Her blog link is: somethingsublime.typepad.com.  She also teaches classes and one day when i'm settled again I fully intend to take some of them.  There are some class reviews from students on her blog.

Check out the book and as always comments are welcome.  Let me know what you think of this fantastic book when you get time.

And the Grow Your Blog Party Winners Are.....

Sorry for the late post but here it is.  I chose 2 winners and they are:  Wendy and Beth@Lizard Breath Speaks.  I will be contacting them shortly to get their addresses.

Just want to say thank you to all of my new followers and others who made lovely comments on my blog post.  The Grow Your Blog Party has been a lot of fun and I have really enjoyed finding other bloggers whether they make jewelry or not.  I am so appreciative of those of you who chose to follow my blog.

I did this the old fashioned way and put all the names in a real bowl and had my husband draw the two names:

Here are the items i'm giving away:

Wendy I truly hope you enjoy this necklace.  It's very colorful and my mom is sad to see it go cause she really wanted it.  (If I had known I would not have placed it in the give away!)

Beth, I hope you find pleasure in wearing the stack of bracelets!

Thanks again for everyone's participation and I am off to notify the winners and to continue on the blog hop.  The hop is gonna take awhile!!

As usual, comments are always welcomed.

Happy Valentine's Everybody

I just wanted to wish everyone not out getting romanced a happy Valentine's.  I'm not really that into Valentine's.  Guess I've been married too long.  But we went out to eat (early) like the old people that we are hoping to miss the crowds and it was already packed all along restaurant row.  Unbelievable!!

Anyway It's almost time for the drawing for the necklace that I am giving away for the Grow Your Blog Party I am participating in.



To be eligible all you need to do is post a comment on my GYB post of January 25th to be entered.

Just look for this post.
















I have gained many followers so I decided to add another give away.  I haven't decided what piece of jewelry it'll be but it'll be a nice one!  So go comment to enter.

And by the way, we sold our house.  We cant believe it.  Only 2 weeks!!  Wow- so now we are packing and throwing and giving away tons of stuff.  It's daunting but we can do it.

Happy Valentine's everyone!!!!!!

Another Snow Day and Creating

I can't believe February this year! Snow, snow, snow.  It has caused a renewed creative spirit in me. And I am loving it.  Even the process of showing and trying to sell a house hasn't stopped me.  This is a blessing!

So I started this morning and did not stop until 2:30 this afternoon.  I ate breakfast and that was it.  Along with several cups of coffee.  No showings of the house today so I didn't have to get out of the house at all.  I was on an earring roll today.

By the way if you are looking for the Grow Your Blog Party being hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags Full you can find it HERE.

I'm telling you I am having a ball finding and following other bloggers.  People amaze me with what they create!!!!

So anyway, here are some of my earring designs.


You can tell i'm tired of snow and winter because my mind is going to all the spring colors.  The earrings below are yellow and blue with wooden beads mixed in.  I even thought about making a pair for myself but then I could not say they are one of a kind or OOAK in Etsy speak so I refrained.

These beads look yellow in the picture but they are actually a light green color.  And believe it or not I found those little copper discs at Wally World of all places.  If any of you shop there they have a small jewelry making section which I check sometimes when I go there.

These earrings are much prettier in person.  As you can tell i'm stuck on these long wooden beads at the moment.  They came from Joann's and were bargain priced. There's blue, purple, brown, violet in the beads.  Great to wear to work--kinda low key.

Here are some of those green nuggets again and you can get an idea of the color a little better.  I paired them with purple and wood.  Very cute and casual.

And I wrestled with this necklace last night trying to get the purple beads to hang right.  It seems that when I got them all going the same way on the chain, i'd pick it up and they would be all wonky again. Ughhhh!! I hate that.  But I finally got them on right and it turned out really pretty.  I love purple almost as much as I love blue--but not quite.  Its hung from a thick leather cord and wire-wrapped on.  A little glue seals the deal to ensure there are no mishaps.


























So that's what I did yesterday and into the evening.  If anyone is interested I will be listing these items in my Etsy store Sadie Jewelry Design later today.

As always I thoroughly enjoy comments so please leave one if you want and make my day!

More Snow-More Designs

Well, we've had the 2nd round of the 3 snow storms predicted.  Perfect for staying inside by a fire and reading and/or creating.  All this snow and cold has made me anxious for spring time.  I love spring as do most people so I made some jewelry inspired by spring.

We haven't had many showings of our house so far this week because of the weather but we do have one for today.  So i'll make this brief.

If you are looking for the Grow Your Blog Party post being hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags full you can find it HERE.

 This party has been so much fun and I have really enjoyed finding other bloggers to follow and gaining followers for my own blog.

So here's some new jewelry:



with St. Patrick's and spring in mind I used these very large beads to make kind of a bib but longer.   The beads are wooden and painted and they are heavy but not so heavy that it's uncomfortable to wear. I wore it while making more jewelry and it was fine.

I had some aluminum connectors that I never used because they have some tarnished areas but I decided to go with the tarnish with these jet black agate beads which are really pretty.  Elegant yet crusty.

For Valentine's I made this red and white necklace with these super large acrylic red/foil beads.  It turned out really nice.  The silver spacers make it pop.

 And finally I ordered all of these small many colored glass beads a long time ago and never used them but because of all the colors I decided to make a plain long necklace that can be worn in one long strand or if your head is small enough you can wear it doubled. I was able to double it over my big head.  There isn't a clasp on it.  I also added some silver metal butterflies all along the strand.  It's easy to wear and would match virtually any color you wear with it.

So off I go to continue cleaning a bit before the house showing.  I'll be listing these items tomorrow in my Etsy store SADIE JEWELRY DESIGN.

Thanks for visiting and as always I really enjoy and appreciate comments.

A Perfect Sunday--Except for Snow

The weather people have been talking about a succession of 3 snow storms for us here in Oklahoma.  we tend to believe the reports half of the time but a lot of the time they are exactly right as they were for today.  The snow was to begin in my area which is north of Oklahoma city at noon.  It began at 11:30.  Wow! That's pretty accurate.  This is what it ended up looking like:

I'm thinking it was only about an inch and a half but the areas in southern Oklahoma received up to 8 inches.  We lucked out today .

It was a perfect day to stay in and drink coffee and tea and for the hubs to watch football previews all day until the big game.  But for me it was a day to drag out all my jewelry making stuff and make stuff.  I have had such a good day today.  It's been a few weeks since I could come in here anytime I wanted and sit and think up designs.  Yeah me!


I'm thinking spring cuz it's so cold so I made this necklace:
  It's so springy and light looking.  I have had that glass aquamarine colored pendant forever.  The brown pendant is faux chinese jade in a really pretty design.              

Went shopping yesterday and stopped by Hobby Lobby and picked some clear glass faceted beads on sale (woo hoo!)  So I made this necklace.  It's unusual, a bit odd but I like it.  The pendant is a copper plated stamping.

 It's got a silver religious icon medal hanging from the center of the pendant.  Part of necklace is finished some freshwater pearls.  You could wear it on either side--the stamping and the medal both have backsides.

It started getting too dark to take any decent pictures so I quickly made a cute pair of earrings.  I've had the gold findings forever too.  I had four, used 2 so decided to use the other two for earrings:

Simple with blood red dangles and handmade brass ear wires.  Aren't those stampings pretty?

So that was my day.  I'd say it was productive.  I anyone is interested in purchasing any of the above items you can see more of them at my Etsy store Sadie Jewelry Design.

Hope everyone has a safe and warm night!