Tag Archives: jewelry

A Westervin Wedding, Shopping Sherpa

New Wedding Bands for Our First Anniversary

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handmade geometric gold and silver wedding bands

{ 1. Stardust Wedding Band } { 2. Gold Bubbles Ring }  { 3. Metropolitan Wedding Band }

{ 4. Gold Branch Ring }  { 5. Banner Ring }  { 6. Grid Ring }

{ 7. Starlight Wedding Band }  { 8. Gold Slant Ring }  { 9. Titanium & Yellow Gold Ring }

Brian and I are getting new wedding bands for our 1-year anniversary next month. Why, you ask? Well, we’ve come up with a few reasons to get a new set:

1. It’s fun! Finding new rings together to reflect our personal styles has been pretty enjoyable.

2. It takes the stress out of finding the perfect anniversary gift and trying to keep it a secret. (I’m very skilled in ruing surprises.)

3. We LOVE our current wedding rings, but I’d like to have the option of having a different style and color to wear.

4. I get that a wedding band is a symbol of your union to one person, so it makes sense for that ring to stay constant. But a marriage doesn’t stay the same from year to year. You grow and change together. Therefore, I want a new set of rings to reflect on and celebrate that we’ve made it, happily, through a full year of marriage together.

5. We’re keeping it affordable by purchasing handmade rings and avoiding solid gold or other high-priced metals. And I love supporting individual craftspeople and jewelry-makers!

6. It’s non-traditional. This might be a reason against getting new wedding bands, but we’re counting this in the “for” column.

The only problem? With so many awesome options out there, it’s been hard choosing the right one for each of us! Of the nine rings above, I think we’ve narrowed it down to the two we want. (The options for Brian are in the four corners.) But I kinda want your opinion! Which rings do you like best? What do you think about getting a new set of affordable, handmade wedding bands each year? Don’t hold back.

Westervin Wishlist

26 Years

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Pie from Bang Bang

It’s my birthday, y’all! Well, it will be tomorrow, and I’m gettin’ pumped. I have what I think is the perfect weekend-long birthday celebration ahead: Friday off from work (did someone say shopping); a trip with some frands to Six Flags on Saturday; and a joint-birthday potluck brunch in our backyard on Sunday (our pal LB is turning 24 that day). It will make for the most perfectest combination of relaxation, excitement, socializing, sunshine, and a little alcohol (Brian will be making fresh OJ for mimosas and tomato juice for bloody marys at the brunch)! Do I have it made or what?!

Because the anticipation is killing me, I thought I’d kill some time with a birthday wishlist, which includes some of these things I’m looking forward to and some things I’m still pining for.

The first is an entire pie from Bang Bang (see above). Preferably a chilled pie, like key lime or banana cream. Mmmmmm……. We’ll be picking up my pie order on Sunday for the brunch!

Six Flags roller coaster

Roller coasters via Six Flags. I need the thrill, baby!

edible arrangement

{ image from The Beautiful Thrifty Life }

An edible arrangement. Not kidding. I really want this. I’m literally so excited about one of these bad boys being delivered to my office tomorrow that I’ve probably spent 6 hours on their website looking at all the different fruit combinations and arrangements and asking Brian 50 times what time it’s gonna arrive!

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me

More reading material! These are just two of the titles on my list of books to read before classes start again in September.  Here’s hoping I can keep it up through the fall semester! (Who am I kidding?)

handmade bracelets

Bracelets! All the bracelets!

Clockwise: Ice Blue, River, Two-Toned, Amazonite, Maidenhair Fern, Coral & Cobalt

gray and white cat

A companion for Fitzgerald. This kitteh’s name is Prince, and he wants me to give him a forever home. I can tell by the look in his eyes.

cat temporary tattoos

Or at least temporary cat tattoos. But preferably both.

Do It Yo'self

Behind the scenes of Lillstreet’s DIY video series

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Lillstreet jewelry making studio

I mentioned that I’m producing a series of DYI videos for Lillstreet, which is, quite possibly, the coolest project I’ve gotten my crafty little hands on to date. And it’s been so much fun! We hope to release the videos next month, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of our first shoot.

We just shot our second video last night with fiber artist Camille Canales. She showed us the professional technique of immersion dyeing for creating a hand dyed silk scarf. I didn’t get any shots of that fun project (you’ll just have to trust me that it was awesome), but I did manage to take a few from our first video (seen here).

For the first video, Katie Mills of Lady Faye Jewelry (I’m buying this ring, BTDubs) taught us how to make simple brass bracelets, which could be customized with one’s initials using a letter stamp.

See those pretty brass bands above!

Joe Tighe and Katie Mills of Lillstreet's DIY Video Series

Photographer & videographer, Joe Tighe of A Couple of Dudes, was our skilled director & cameraman. He’s also finishing up the editing now, and I can’t wait to see the finished product. I’ll be sure to share it with you, of course, next month!

Maker's Remarks

Arlie Trowbridge of Urban Revisions

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Oh man. I’m excited. Why? Because I’m about to share my mini interview with Arlie Trowbridge, the stupidly talented woman behind Urban Revisions. I’ve loved her work for ages now! Arlie was sweet enough to answer a few questions — some silly, some serious — for the latest installment of my Maker’s Remarks series. And the timing couldn’t be better, because she’s just released her Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Oh how these sherbet colored pieces make me wanna run outside and chase an ice cream truck!

handmade glass and leather purses by Urban Revisions

How did Urban Revisions start? Did you have a “quit your day job to start an Etsy shop” sort of moment?

Urban Revisions started in early 2009 by accident. I had just started getting into reading fashion blogs and the DIY shredded t-shirt craze was in full effect. I gave it a try and was immediately addicted to the process of “revising” the most basic article of clothing – a tee. My friend started modeling them in “urban” settings around Richmond, and the Etsy shop was born. Shortly after my first couple of sales, I was awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Couldn’t have been better timing. This allowed me to “quit my day job” and really pursue selling my work.

Arlie Trowbridge of Urban Revisions

Your shredded T-shirts are so unique, and it seems like your beautiful glass jewelry requires a lot of skill to create. What’s the inspiration for your pieces and the process for making them?

There’s no doubt that I love things with an organic feel to them. Almost anything that I’ve ever created and really loved came about by accident… there’s something really special about working with glass and distressed fiber. You can melt and shred forever until something amazing comes about. In the end, everything always has this delicate look but in actuality, cotton and glass have really strong qualities.

shredded cotton scarf in orange sherbet

Would you say you’re more of an urbanite or a nature-lover? Or a perfect mixture of both?

Both! I’ve lived in or very close to a city the majority of my life. I need to be near the sound of people’s hustle and bustle but I also need our long camping trips in the middle of no where and our afternoons hanging down by the James River.

shredded cotton t-shirt from Urban Revisions

What’s a typical day in the life of Arlie Trowbridge? Take us through a brief snapshot of your day, from morning to night?

Wake up, stumble to the coffee pot, fill the largest mug available, stumble to the studio and slowly open my eyes over emails and blogs.
Thats the first step, and then it’s either …

a. start shredding
b. start torch working
c. start dyeing
< or >
d. start day dreaming

I’m really all over the place, and it feels awesome.

handmade glass cluster rings from Urban Revisions

Would you rather have the ability to breathe underwater or the ability to fly? Explain.

Breathe underwater!!! In fact, this is something I’ve dreamt about many times. I spent many days at our local pool pretending to be Ariel from The Little Mermaid when I was little. Some people have commented on my cluster rings and leaf earrings, saying they remind them of coral. I love that. Marine life is fascinating.

handmade shredded t-shirt from Urban Revisions

What’s your favorite part of creating & selling your handicrafts?

The people I have had the pleasure to “meet”! The internet is such a powerful tool. Knowing that there are ladies all over the world wearing Urban Revisions is incredible to me.

handmade glass cluster ring from Urban Revisions

BTDubs, if you’ve read through this interview, you’ve got a special treat coming. You can enter Arlie’s giveaway on Facebook to win the spectacular glass cluster ring pictured above. Get on over there and enter!

Shopping Sherpa

Tropical Tango

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tangerine tango fashion, art, and accessories

{ 1. Vintage Owls }  { 2. Neon Vegan Leather Handbag }  { 3. Vintage Glass Beaded Necklace }  { 4. Girl Painting by Jennifer Davis }  { 5. Leia Floral Blouse }

Shopping Sherpa

The Shopping Sherpa: Black as Night

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black handmade accessories and vintage clothing

Clockwise from top left: { Swan Song Noir Ring from Blood Milk }  { Cannon Earrings from Stone & Honey }  { Vintage Beaded Blouse from The Greedy Seagull, Inc. }  { Thunder In Our Hearts Tote from Field Guided }  { REVOLUTION / PLANETS Print from Beauchamping (found via Where The Lovely Things Are) }

Westervin Wishlist

Westervin Wishlist: To Sarah, From Santa

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christmas illustration by Heidi Burton

 

{ May I Lick the Spoon? by Heidi Burton }

My turn! Time to reveal all the goodies I’ve been pining for this Christmas. From dreamcats and lunar landscapes to mirror shards and rusty nails, I think I’ve put together a pretty interesting and comprehensive wishlist this year. See for yourself below!

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Maker's Remarks

Maker’s Remarks: Sarah Newby

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Nail & Thread necklace by Sarah Newby

I’m positively thrilled to share our latest Maker’s Remarks interview. This time, I get to share the beautiful work of my super talented new friend and classmate, Sarah Newby. Sarah is debuting her new shop Newby Treasury with a line of jewelry made from wrapped jute rope and old nails. Separately, you might not think these items would make for a beautiful necklace, but combined using Sarah’s skilled hand and eye, the end result is a work of quiet elegance.

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Shopping Sherpa

The Shopping Sherpa: Sharp

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Clockwise from top left: { No. 442 Citrine Beaded Bracelet from Dinosaur Toes }  { Triangle Wall Shelf in Deep Teal from Junglai }  { Linen Oblong Pouch from Bookhou at Home }  { BEAM Silk Desert Prism Scarf from Callen Thompson }

Maker's Remarks

Maker’s Remarks: Debbie Carlos

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{ Black Mountain }

While looking for a new photo print for our bedroom that was both large and affordable, I came across this crazy cool Mountains poster by one Debbie Carlos. I just had to have it, and how (!), so I messaged Debbie to make sure I could get it quickly. I’m about as patient as a spoiled kid on Christmas Eve. I also wanted it as part of a mini apartment facelift before our first wedding guest arrived. But mostly, I just wanted it now! Debbie turned out to be very accommodating. So sweet, in fact, that I thought, “Gee. I bet she’s a lovely, interesting person, and I sure would love to learn more about her and feature her gorgeous work on our blog.” So that’s what I did! Debbie kindly agreed to participate in our Maker’s Remarks series and has answered a few questions about her work, her life, and her inner crab.

{ Lake }

Your photos seem to express a love of nature. How do you find things to shoot despite living in a big city?

I don’t often take pictures of the city itself, choosing to focus more on the home and the quiet surprising/beautiful moments that happen sometimes. But Chicago is great in terms of greenery. There are tons of parks and  preserves within the city limits that I often shoot in. I also tend to take the most photographs when I’m traveling.

{ Woods }

Do you have any current or upcoming creative projects that you’re excited about?

I’m collaborating on a project with my brother, who is an amazing graphic designer based out of Minneapolis. He designed the award winning catalog for Yves Klein’s traveling exhibition and is senior designer at the Walker Art Center so you know this is going to be good! We are finalizing the design and about to go into production. It should be making its debut at this year’s Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago!

What’s your spirit animal?

The Dancing Crab

{ Blue Egg }

You also have a food blog! Can you share one of your favorite recipes with us?

Since it is summer, I feel like I must share with you the recipe for Watermelon Shake! Its a take on a Mexican Agua Fresca but its name is a shout out to my Filipino background (we call our blended fruit drinks shakes even though there is no dairy in them).

Watermelon Shake

Watermelon, cubed
Cold Water
Lime juice
Sweetener (Sugar, Agave Syrup, Honey, Splenda etc)
Salt

Use about a  4:1 ratio of watermelon to water. Pulse in a blender and taste. If its too watery, add more watermelon or add water if mixture seems too stiff. Add a small pinch of salt and season with lime juice and sweetener to taste.

* to make this a little boozy add some tequila

{ Gradient / Jade }

And you make jewelry? How do you balance all of your creative drives?

I feel like I always need to have a project going on. I think if I sit still for too long or if nothing is on the horizon, I get really anxious. I also think its really great and healthy to change it up a bit every once in awhile. If I get tired of working on photos, I know I can go and work on some jewelry.  If I get tired of both, maybe I can go into the kitchen and have a cooking project. There are a lot of things that I’d like to be able to do that just don’t happen and thats ok and sometimes it does get overwhelming but I kind of wing it based on mood. Its always good to have something going on.